A panel of business and labor leaders recommended March 1 that the minimum wage should be raised in Wisconsin, according to an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The minimum wage now is $5.15. That wage would be raised 55 cents to $5.70 an hour in October, and would be raised to $6.50 an hour in October 2005. The plan also would include a special teen rate that would pay teenagers $5.30 an hour in October and $5.90 in October 2005.
The raise would be an excellent change for workers. Anyone who has read “Nickel and Dimed,” by Barbara Ehrenreich, knows minimum wage is not a living wage. The increase will help workers more than it will hurt employers.
| The Issue Business and labor leaders have suggested a higher minimum wage, though teenagers would not receive the full amount. |
This proposed wage raise hopefully will lead to increased spending by low-wage workers and offset financial squeezes some businesses may face. The raise is gradual, and businesses should have time to adjust.
When one or two parents are struggling to get by on a minimum wage salary, every little bit helps. Gov. Jim Doyle’s office estimated that 130,000 to 160,000 workers would be affected by the raise, according to the article.
It’s a step in the right direction for adult workers.
The special teen rate, however, is not a good addition. While teenagers generally work for experience or to pay car insurance and do not usually have the financial obligations many adults do, they are still doing adult work. It would be like paying a 65-year-old less because he or she receives a Social Security check.
Employers also might be more likely to hire a staff consisting of cheap teenagers rather than equally qualified or available adults who need jobs to support themselves and their families.
But even with its problems, the proposal is a good start toward solving some working class economic troubles.
