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Local view: Higher wages is just the beginning

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By Kate Bolz and Erin Ching

Thursday, Jul 24, 2008 - 12:24:19 am CDT

From ranchers in Ogallala to factory workers in Lincoln, Nebraskans work hard every day to provide for their families. As a state, we take pride in our “Midwestern Work Ethic” and generally believe that those who work should earn wages that allow them to care for their families.

Today, we join the rest of the nation in taking a step closer to the ideals of rewarding work and valuing workers by increasing the federal minimum wage from $5.85 to $6.55.  This is the second phase of a three step process that will result in a federal minimum wage of $7.25 starting in 2009. As an advocacy organization that supports working families, Nebraska Appleseed is pleased to see wages increase as the cost of groceries, transportation, child care, housing and other costs of living continue to rise. Contrary to some misconceptions, this is a good and important step toward making work pay. However, we still have a long way to go to promote fair pay and quality jobs in Nebraska.

An increase in the minimum wage will help working families. A common myth is that very few people earn the minimum wage, and most of those workers are teenagers, part-time workers and people who are not the primary earner in the household. This is simply not true. Seventy-nine percent of the 13 million people who will be affected by the minimum wage increase are adults. Of all the workers affected by the increase, more than half work full time, and another third work between 20 and 34 hours per week. The average minimum wage worker brings home 54 percent of his or her family’s earnings. Contrary to common myths, the wage increase will directly impact working families.  And, according to the Economic Policy Institute and hundreds of economists who supported the legislation that triggered the minimum wage increase, modest increases in the minimum wage such as this one have positive impacts on the quality of life of low-wage workers while having very little or no effect on employment overall — and several studies show that minimum wage increases have not been correlated with job loss.

While the minimum wage increase is forward progress, we need to do more to create opportunities for low-wage workers to succeed in Nebraska. The minimum wage increase is a step in the right direction, but a full-time minimum wage worker earning about $13,600 annually will still not earn above poverty level wages for a family of three ($17,600 in 2008.) Furthermore, the minimum wage increase impacts only a fraction of low-wage workers in Nebraska — 6.2 percent of Nebraska Workers will be impacted by the minimum wage increase by 2009. But, as of 2007,  22.8 percent of Nebraska’s adult workforce was engaged in low-wage work — or work that results in annual earnings of less than $19,000 per year. This is not enough to provide a family of three with basic needs such as shelter, food, utilities and health care.

As a state, we can make choices that build on the minimum wage increase in order to make work pay better for Nebraska’s dedicated workforce. Two important next steps include increasing eligibility for support programs and promoting living wages. Increasing eligibility lines for support programs, such as child care assistance and health care assistance, can allow families to continue to get help as they receive increases in earnings and work toward self-sufficiency. Expanding initiatives to support living wages, privately in Nebraska businesses and publically in efforts such as the Lincoln Living Wage Ordinance can provide opportunities for Nebraska workers and illustrate our commitment to rewarding the Midwestern work ethic.

We as Nebraskans value hard work, and it’s time to put our values into action by building on the minimum wage increase to better promote economic security and improve quality of life for Nebraska workers.

Kate Bolz and Erin Ching work for Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest. Bolz is a community educator. Ching is a staff attorney.


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Dave wrote on July 24, 2008 5:25 am:
" The minimum wage is a joke. I feel badly for any adult trying to live on $6.55 per hour-- let alone if they have children. How hopeless! It's no wonder people turn to crime and drugs. "

 Kelly wrote on July 24, 2008 8:19 am:
" Great article! "

 Nina wrote on July 24, 2008 8:22 am:
" I applaud this move in the right direction. I suspect that anyone who would walk in the shoes of a minimum wage earner would agree. Those who fight such an increase simply have no clue because they haven't been there. Instead of gloating over this fact, they should say, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." "

 Eric wrote on July 24, 2008 8:26 am:
" With current inflationary pressures caused by the oil and food industry, one has to wonder if a minimum wage increase will mean anything as it will most definitly drive inflation further and negate the increase, which will then only have a psychological impact on the recipients. More total money in circulation just drives the value of the dollar further down. In a capitalist society dependent on other countries for energy, there will always be poor people and rich people, and far more poor than rich. Yet the American dream exists... 1. Study hard in high school, get scholarships, grants, student loans (which anyone can get that makes grades), 2. Work even harder in college, 3. Finish with an in demand degree, or continue to grad school. 4. Live within your means and most of all 5. Don't screw up, because the 2nd chance is three times harder than the first one. "

 Typical Republican wrote on July 24, 2008 8:45 am:
" Just another Socialist plot. We need to let Big Business run things. They've done a great job so far. It's the American way. "

 Maximum Wage wrote on July 24, 2008 9:25 am:
" Why is it that the cheap-labor Republicans are always up-in-arms whenever someone else gets an extra $15 or $20 a week, but nobody ever says anything when the guy who sits in the Big Chair takes home an extra $1 or $2 or $10 Million dollars for closing a plant and shipping a thousand jobs overseas? "

 Dan wrote on July 24, 2008 9:30 am:
" Big Business has done a great job? you have got to be kidding me. All they are doing is sending jobs overseas. Not everyone is cut out for college. Someone has to be the lawn service guy or the garbage man, factory worker. These people need good pay, If everyone went to college there still would not be enough good jobs for everyone. Every time someone talks about wages, the idiots always say go back to college. What happened to decent paying jobs for those that college is not a good fit, do we just let them fail? That is NOT what this country was made of. The working class of this country are the ones that always fight the wars, build the bridges and everything else. If the rich people all went away the working class could make their own way, not true for those who live off the sweat of others. "

 Grundle wrote on July 24, 2008 9:35 am:
" Minimum wage does not reward hard work, it is pay designated for the minimum skill and effort one can put into a job.

Have any of your studies examined the effects of an increased minimum wage on the cost of goods? Employers need employees to keep their operations running, this we all know. As a result, very few (if any) job cuts will be made. What WILL happen is that things will get more expensive as demand increases...and as a result, everybody's expenses go up. Intuition tells us this much, but will the Appleseed Center invest in a study on this matter? "

 to Eric wrote on July 24, 2008 9:39 am:
" "inflationary pressures caused by the oil and food industry" is a very uninformed statement. Food prices are higher because corn is being used for ethanol (which is a complete farce). Corn is used for almost everything we eat. Feed for animals, additives for other foods, etc. As for oil, liberals refuse to allow our country to become energy independent. Instead of drilling for oil they want wind and solar energy which are consistently proven to neither work nor be efficient. As for the minimum wage, let's just make it $20 an hour. A minimum wage will cause inflation because prices and wages will be artificially set as opposed to allowing the free market establish the worth of both products and the worker. Liberal "solutions" ALWAYS increase the problems. "

 dewboy wrote on July 24, 2008 9:43 am:
" OH MY! I can hear big business, Chamber of Commerce and LIBA crying right now. Remember the fuss they made over the Living Wage proposal and they still moan and groan about it. It is a good thing that these people are not the ones that set the wage scale. "

 Big deal wrote on July 24, 2008 9:46 am:
" I work a decent Job at over $13/hr...this dosen't affect my wage I don't get a 10.6% increase in my wage becuase of this "

 Josh wrote on July 24, 2008 10:12 am:
" Don't worry, those increased wages will just result in even higher prices being passed on to those very same consumers. Dave is right, the minimum wage is a joke. Less than 1% of earners in this country make minimum wage. It's all a show to make Congress feel like they've done something worthwhile "

 working poor wrote on July 24, 2008 11:11 am:
" Any one who starts at a minimum wage job and works their way up should get the same increase. Everytime the minimum wage goes up it erodes the 20+ years of experience I have with the company. By next increase my 20+ years will mean I make $0.45 more than the person I'm training. I can't get a raise because all the the lower employees get raised with the minimum wage so the company tells me I can't have one because they can't afford it. Evidently my groceries and gas don't go up just those making minimum wage. The bottom line is those with seniority get nothing just more bills "

 brian in Lincoln wrote on July 24, 2008 2:43 pm:
" Just more liberal hand holding is what this amounts to. What ever happened to rewarding a persons pay based upon merit? Anyone who works hard at the minimum will not be there long, as any employer will reward them to keep them. The only thing this will do is limit the PT jobs for anyone and raise the costs of goods and services. Like we need more inflation at this time...thanks Dems for this one ! "

 skeptical of the economics wrote on July 24, 2008 3:27 pm:
" I'm not convinced the government has any proper place in setting salaries at private companies. Let's let the market decide, not Nancy Pelosi. "

 Oracle wrote on July 24, 2008 5:55 pm:
" I'm really disgusted with the scrooge-like attitudes expressed by some on this topic. Due to inflation, the real minimum wage has been dropping since the last increase in the mid-90's. In fact if the minimum wage had remained steady in real dollars since 1968, it would be about $9.50. "

 Dave wrote on July 24, 2008 7:09 pm:
" This plan of study hard in high school, blah, blah, blah, just doesn't help people who grow up in dysfunctional or lower income or irregular households. Most of us make stupid mistakes as teenagers-- that's how we learn. The difference is that these kids don't have their family to bail them out and set them straight. They become adults stuck without any hope of anything different due to their childhood mistakes (such as dropping out of high school). If we wanted to attack the root of many of our societal problems- crime, welfare, planless familing- we would do something to help educate and train these adults, once reality sets in, for meaningful employment.

But until consumers decide to only support businesses that pay living wages there always be jobs that don't pay squat. Since this might begin with not shopping at Walmart, we can all understand the solution involves personal sacrifice making it oh so unlikely. "

 Ray wrote on July 24, 2008 10:29 pm:
" Nina,
I have walked in the shoes of the minimum wage worker, and I realized that I could continue to work for that wage or I could improve myself through hard work and take a chance on a better paying job that actually was rewarding. I doubt anyone (other than you liberals) ever intended for someone to make a career out of working the fast food drive thru at McDonalds or some other min wage job. Incidentally the trash man and the factory worker usually make well above min wage. The lawn maintenance worker is usually a high school or college kid making money when they aren't in school. How many parents do you know that work a min wage job as their sole means of income? Why do you not help this person prepare and train for a better job? Perhaps you believe you are helping the nation as a whole by keeping people in poverty. Do you also advocate the continued importation of illegal aliens to keep produce prices nice and low? They usually make less than min wage. "

 Ray wrote on July 24, 2008 10:32 pm:
" Dave said;
"If we wanted to attack the root of many of our societal problems- crime, welfare, planless familing- we would do something to help educate and train these adults, once reality sets in, for meaningful employment."
I agree Dave. I work with these people every day. What are you doing? Or are you like most people who expect government to do it for you? "

 Tired of whining wrote on July 25, 2008 10:35 am:
" Minimum wage just causes more inflation in the long run and the dollar has lost value after it went into effect. This after the dollar steadied for a period of time. If you don't like getting paid minimum wage, be proactive and educate yourself or work construction. It's that simple. "

 Oracle wrote on July 25, 2008 11:03 am:
" Every time the minimum wage is increased (in real terms just some of the value lost to inflation is replaced), the gloom and doomers claim that businesses will be hurt. Well looking at the actual history, this has never happened. Instead the economy has generally improved. Why? Because anyone making minimum wage is spending the increase at these businesses which boosts the economy. Simple economics which few seem to understand. "

 Rxwoman wrote on July 25, 2008 4:58 pm:
" Big business, and corporate America run amok is why we have the colapsing economy we are currently experiencing. The fact of the matter, is that big business left to regulate itself will always put it's thumb on the scale, so to speak. No other area of human endeavor is left to police itself, why would we allow big business to do so? The result will always be corruption, illegalitys, and predation on labor, and the consumer. A minimum wage is needed. It boosted the economy when Clinton did it, twice, and it will boost the economy now. If sending folks checks is good, then raising the minimum wage will be just as good, if not better. "

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