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Finally, Raising the minimum wage to will significantly aid the hardships of the poor
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| Finally, Raising the minimum wage to $15 will significantly aid the hardships of the poor
Paul K. Sonn, 6-3-2014, "$15 Is the New $10.10," US News & World Report, http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/06/03/seattle-is-right-to-raise-its-minimum-wage-to-15-per-hour a $15 minimum wage would be a very significant step towards reducing hardship and meeting family needs. It would also bring the minimum wage more in line with productivity gains over past decades, since the minimum wage would be over $16 per hour if it had kept up with even conservative measures of productivity growth since 1979. But is it realistic to actually shift our economy and whole low-wage industries onto a path towards significantly higher wages? Many will be surprised to learn that there’s every reason to believe that it is – because it has, in fact, been done recently in both the U.S. and in other countries with similar economies. Looking abroad, Australia has a minimum wage of more than $15 per hour yet enjoys low unemployment and strong growth. Closer to home, Washington, D.C., instituted a substantially higher minimum wage and benefits standard for security guards in 2008, successfully transitioning an $8 occupation to one where guards now earn $16.50 in wages and benefits without evidence of ill effects on the commercial real estate industry, which pays the guards’ wages. Similarly, Los Angeles, San Jose and St. Louis have all phased in minimum wages and benefits of more than $15 for airport workers without adverse effect. And San Francisco already requires all employers to provide minimum wages and benefits that together total $13.18 per hour for large employers, yet the restaurant industry has seen stronger growth in the city than in surrounding counties. Equally significant, it is not just workers but also growing numbers of business voices that are backing the need for transitioning our economy to a $15 minimum wage. The Seattle increase was endorsed by a majority of the business representatives on the committee that negotiated it. In Los Angeles, real estate developers Eli Broad and Rick Caruso have called for a $15 minimum wage. And nationally, more voices from finance and tech, like investor Nick Hanauer, have been making the case that phasing in a $15 wage is not only feasible but an economic necessity in order to generate the consumer spending power that we need to break out of our tepid recovery. Many of these changes were dismissed by critics as unrealistic when first proposed, but successful on-the-ground experiences have proven otherwise. With every reason to believe that a $15 minimum wage economy is feasible, the question now is whether we will take advantage of this opportunity to win the type of real change that our economy needs and that America’s workers deserve. Download 95.74 Kb. Share with your friends:
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