Republicans, here is an opportunity to get in sync with Americans. Don’t blow it!
The arguments for raising the federal minimum wage mostly make little sense mainly because our objective should not be to marginally raise the pay for low skilled work, but rather to assure such work is temporary and people are able to move on to more rewarding work.
On the other hand, what makes even less sense is a patchwork of wage minimums by state and even some cities; some with inflation adjustment; some not. Beginning in 2015 twenty-nine states will have a minimum wage above the federal minimum.
But disingenuous arguments don’t help. Consider this statement trying to build a case for a higher minimum wage.
Wider Opportunties for Women estimates that a single person without children in New Jersey working a job with benefits would need an hourly wage of $19.55 for basic economic security. For a family with a preschooler and school-aged child, both adults would need jobs paying $21.30 an hour for basic security, according to the group’s BEST Index.
Two adults each earning $21.30 an hour have a household income of $88,948. If that’s what it takes for basic security in NJ, raising the minimum won’t help much, especially given the median household income in NJ $61,782
Most employers already pay above the minimum wage. However, here are the top 20 low-wage employers in the U.S. from Business Insider; look at the list. They are largely discount retailers, fast food chains and restaurant chains. None of the lowest wage jobs should be career jobs, they should not be jobs that support families. The real problem is not the low wages, but the reason people are stuck in those jobs, correcting that should be our primary focus.
The National Employment Law Project studies industries and identifies companies where employees have low wages. In July 2012 the group released a study listing the largest U.S. companies that primarily have low-wage employees.
Note that there’s no hard numbers on how many of these companies workers are making the exact minimum wage. And the column of the US Workforce refers to all of these companies’ US workers, not just their workers making a low wage.
Here are the basic arguments against raising the minimum wage. Frankly, given the current situation among the states, these arguments are not compelling. Granted, raising the wage won’t actually do much for poverty or the middle class and yes, some prices will go up … skipping an order of fries may not be a bad thing … but so what? The idea that an employer will not hire someone if they have to pay a few cents more an hour seems silly. If the employer needs the worker, they will pay. That’s why Vanna White earns a few million a year touching letters.
Republicans would do well to stop the nonsensical rhetoric and simply raise the minimum wage, be done with it, and move on to more significant things like saving Social Security … and the world.
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