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Raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.15 will not help in real
inflation-adjusted buying power--it is too small of an increase. So
let’s discuss the fundamentals. As Virginia’s former Democratic
governor Mark Warner’s track record illustrates, skills training in our
high schools would help increase wages for Idaho’s workforce and
encourage more jobs. With the push for community colleges in the
urban areas of Idaho, I believe that our local high schools could become
the rural equivalent of community college. This would cost money
and would require a willingness to change the current high school
structure.<br>
<br>
The state legislature’s current focus on shifting school funding from
property taxes to the sales tax (the current maintenance and operations
debate) misses the point. Instead of focusing on ways to shift
funds, I would urge consideration for increased funding for the
creation/maintenance of skills centers in local high schools.
Rather than seeking a balanced taxation approach, the Idaho Education
Association has promoted a tax shift to the sales tax, which sends a
confusing message.<br><br>
When one examines France, with a high minimum wage, a large
under-skilled/inexperienced segment of its youth, guaranteed employment
contracts, unbending unionization, top down regulations, etc., one
observes high unemployment, a high cost of living, and extreme social
unrest.<br><br>
What works: 1) create/maintain superior education for both the
college-bound and the non-college-bound, 2) invest in infrastructure, 3)
be friendly to business, 4) be environmentally wise, and 5) do this
without going deeply into debt, which requires prioritization.
Ireland has followed the above policies with exceptional success.
We should follow the lead of former governor Warner and Virginia’s
Republican legislature and make these policies non-partisan. From
what I’ve learned, Larry Grant, our district’s Democratic candidate for
Congress, seems to understand this non-partisan, middle of the road
approach.<br>
<br>
Jerry<br><br>
<br><br>
At 11:11 AM 8/7/06, Shirley Ringo wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><font face="arial" size=2>Visionaries:<br>
</font> <br><br>
I cannot resist the urge to weigh in on the minimum wage issue. I
proposed legislation during the most recent legislative session to raise
the minimum wage to $6.15. It received very little support from
Republicans. (Our District 6 Republicans did support it, and
Representative Trail will co-sponsor the effort with us again next
year.)<br><br>
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> <br><br>
We plan to try again next year, at an amount above $6.15.<br><br>
<br><br>
Without getting into the usual arguments, it’s unacceptable to have a
minimum wage that leaves those paid at that level in cruel poverty.
Lawmakers have neglected maintenance on minimum wage levels. In
1968, the minimum wage meant something positive to families. In
inflation-adjusted dollars, it has lost nearly 40% of its value between
1968 and now.<br>
<br>
<br><br>
According to polling, the vast majority of Americans believe the minimum
wage should be higher. I believe eighteen states have a minimum
wage higher than the $5.15 federal level, which has not been raised since
1997. Some of these states have used the initiative process to get
results, where state legislators would not act on it. In some of
these states, there has been significant help from Republican
leaders.<br><br>
<br><br>
Many claims of negative consequences do not seem to be true. One of
the claims is that jobs will be lost. In the majority of states
that have raised the minimum wage, there has in fact been an increase in
jobs. (We can’t claim the wage increase caused more jobs, but the
decrease some predicted didn’t happen.) An increase in employee
productivity and less absenteeism was reported where the pay level
increased.<br><br>
<br><br>
On the inflation issue, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Florida
reported after raising their minimum wage a very minor increase in some
prices. Since a relatively small percent of the employed receive
minimum wage, one might not expect a dramatic increase in prices.
(We can expect a “ripple effect” though, where employers will raise wages
to be more competitive.) One year ago in Idaho, according to the
Department of Commerce and Labor, 32,000 Idahoans received a wage between
$5.15 and $6.15 per hour. While Idaho State Government employee pay
is entirely too low, almost none of them receive pay as low as $5.15 per
hour. I don’t consider it an undisputed fact that there will be
significant inflation, but we can certainly study the issue in the states
that have raised the minimum wage. <br><br>
<br><br>
Workers who receive minimum wage live from paycheck to paycheck.
(If they can make it stretch.) They have no discretionary
money. What are they to do when their taxes go up? Just more
water in the gravy, I guess. At the minimum wage, it takes more
than one full day to earn the money to buy fifteen gallons of gasoline.
<br><br>
<br><br>
While I continue to study the issue, I am convinced that some of the
negative consequences of raising the minimum wage are over-stated.
I am also steadfast in my belief that it is unacceptable to value people
and families so little that we allow such a low level of compensation for
their efforts and to address their needs. <br><br>
<br><br>
Shirley<br><br>
<br><br>
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