January 3, 2006

A Fair Day's Pay

The federal minimum wage has been a paltry $5.15 an hour for more than eight years. Polls show that there is strong popular support for raising it, but Congress has resisted. Unions, community groups and advocates for the poor are increasingly taking the matter directly to voters through state referendums to raise their states' minimum wages, according to an article yesterday in The Times. Their intentions are laudable, but the efforts only highlight Congress's failure to set the federal minimum wage at a reasonable level.

The federal minimum wage got its start in 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act required the employers it covered to pay workers at least 25 cents an hour. Because the law is not indexed for inflation, Congress has to pass legislation to increase the minimum wage. Its record of doing this is disappointing. The last time the minimum rose was in September 1997. Since then, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the minimum wage's purchasing power has fallen more than 15 percent. It is now less than one-third of the average wage for private nonsupervisory workers - the lowest percentage in 56 years.

Keeping the minimum wage at a reasonable level has appeal across the political spectrum. Liberals see a higher minimum wage as a way to lift the working poor out of poverty and narrow the gap between rich and poor. Many conservatives see it as a way to reward work. In a 2005 Pew Research Center poll, 86 percent of respondents, including 79 percent of social conservatives, supported increasing the minimum wage to $6.45 an hour.

But the idea has some influential opponents. Business interests, led by the restaurant industry, have lobbied to keep the minimum wage low. Some free-market conservatives, heirs to the original opponents of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, oppose it on ideological grounds. In recent years, these forces have prevailed. The same Congress that has passed huge tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations has consistently refused to help those on the other side of the economic divide.

In 2004, supporters of a higher minimum wage had impressive success in state-wide votes. In Florida and Nevada - both states that went for President Bush - voters passed referendums to increase their states' minimum wage laws by margins of roughly 70 to 30 percent. This year, there may be ballot initiatives in seven states, including Ohio and Michigan (and Nevada will vote again). Some political analysts say the initiatives could help Democratic Congressional candidates by drawing low-income voters to the polls, just as referendums in 2004 to oppose gay marriage helped the turnout of Republican-leaning voters who are religious conservatives.

State minimum-wage referendums are not ideal. Policy matters of this kind are best handled by legislatures, and the nation would be better off with a uniform federal standard. But given where the federal minimum wage now stands, state-level initiatives are the only game in town. Those grass-roots debates may shame Congress into taking long-overdue action to help the lowest-paid workers.


EDITORIAL
January 3, 2006 A Fair Day's Pay The federal minimum wage has been a paltry $5.15 an hour for more than eight years. Polls show that there is strong popular support for raising it, but Congress has resisted. Unions, community groups and advocates for the poor are increasingly taking the matter directly to voters through state referendums to raise their states' minimum wages, according to an article yesterday in The Times. Their intentions are laudable, but the efforts only highlight Congress's failure to set the federal minimum wage at a reasonable level. The federal minimum wage got its start in 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act required the employers it covered to pay workers at least 25 cents an hour. Because the law is not indexed for inflation, Congress has to pass legislation to increase the minimum wage. Its record of doing this is disappointing. The last time the minimum rose was in September 1997. Since then, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the minimum wage's purchasing power has fallen more than 15 percent. It is now less than one-third of the average wage for private nonsupervisory workers - the lowest percentage in 56 years. Keeping the minimum wage at a reasonable level has appeal across the political spectrum. Liberals see a higher minimum wage as a way to lift the working poor out of poverty and narrow the gap between rich and poor. Many conservatives see it as a way to reward work. In a 2005 Pew Research Center poll, 86 percent of respondents, including 79 percent of social conservatives, supported increasing the minimum wage to $6.45 an hour. But the idea has some influential opponents. Business interests, led by the restaurant industry, have lobbied to keep the minimum wage low. Some free-market conservatives, heirs to the original opponents of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, oppose it on ideological grounds. In recent years, these forces have prevailed. The same Congress that has passed huge tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations has consistently refused to help those on the other side of the economic divide. In 2004, supporters of a higher minimum wage had impressive success in state-wide votes. In Florida and Nevada - both states that went for President Bush - voters passed referendums to increase their states' minimum wage laws by margins of roughly 70 to 30 percent. This year, there may be ballot initiatives in seven states, including Ohio and Michigan (and Nevada will vote again). Some political analysts say the initiatives could help Democratic Congressional candidates by drawing low-income voters to the polls, just as referendums in 2004 to oppose gay marriage helped the turnout of Republican-leaning voters who are religious conservatives. State minimum-wage referendums are not ideal. Policy matters of this kind are best handled by legislatures, and the nation would be better off with a uniform federal standard. But given where the federal minimum wage now stands, state-level initiatives are the only game in town. Those grass-roots debates may shame Congress into taking long-overdue action to help the lowest-paid workers. Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company