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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2013)
e n e w o m e a r e e e ti e - at d Opinion Time to Raise the Minimum Wage “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor B RUCE P OINSETTE Reporter D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., T he first federal minimum wage of 25 cents an hour was established in 1938. Since then, it has been raised 22 times. It’s time to increase the floor for the 23rd time, from its current $7.25 to at least $10 an hour. According to the Center for Eco- nomic Policy Research, the value of the minimum wage peaked in 1968. If the minimum wage had been indexed to the official Con- sumer Price Index each year, the minimum wage today would be $10.52. The last time the mini- mum wage was raised was in 2007, when it was raised from $5.15 to $7.25. Still, there is resistance. Republican leaders say raising the minimum wage will cost jobs. But opponents, such as economist Jared Bernstein, argue that rather than job loss, employers compen- sate by charging higher prices and increasing productivity. Another common myth is that employers shouldn’t be forced to pay young people the minimum wage. But 88 percent of workers who would be affected by raising the minimum wage are at least 20 years old and a third are at least 40 years, according to the Economic Policy Institute. EPI found that of the workers who would benefit from the raise: * The average age of affected workers is 35 years old; * 88 percent of all affected workers are at least 20 years old; * 35.5 percent are at least 40 years old; * 56 percent are women; * 28 percent have children; high school diploma and 8 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher. T HE C URRY Robert Greenstein, president of R EPORT the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities testified before Congress in February: “I would note that George E. over recent decades, the minimum Curry wage has been allowed to erode and is now 20 percent lower, after adjusting for inflation, than in the late 1960s. For this and a number * 55 percent work full-time (35 of other reasons (relating in part to globalization of the economy), hours per week or more); * 44 percent have at least some wages for low-paid jobs have fall- en.” college experience. A fact sheet by Economic Policy The federal minimum wage is covered by the Fair Labor Stan- Institute found, “A disproportion- dards Act. There are ate share of minorities will benefit approximately 3.6 million work- from a minimum wage increase. ers, or 4.7 percent of all hourly African Americans represent 11 paid workers who are at or below percent of the total workforce, but 3.6 million workers, or 4.7 percent of all hourly paid workers, are at or below the federqal minimum wage the federal minimum wage of 7.25 an hour. Employers are allowed to pay students and the disabled less than the minimum wage. It also places limits on workers who derive part of their income from tips. A study by the Congressional Research Service found that 40 percent of those earning the mini- mum wage or less work in “food preparation and serving related occupations.” It also discovered that 72.2 percent have at least a are 18 percent of workers affected by an increase. Washington State has the highest state minimum wage at $9.19, indexed to infla- tion. California enacted a law that will raise its minimum wage to $10 over three years. Some cities have wages that are even higher. The minimum wage is $10.55 in San Francisco. And in the recent election, New Jersey voters approve a constitutional amend- ment increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25. Where city or state minimums exceed the federal standard, work- ers receive the higher wage. The movement to increase the federal minimum wage has stalled in Congress. Two Democrats, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and Rep. George Miller of California have spon- sored legislation, called the Fair Minimum Wage Act, to raise the federal minimum wage. The hope to overcome past opposition by adding some sweeteners for small businesses, including allowing them to deduct the full cost of equipment and expansion up to $500,000 in the first year. In his State of the Union address in February, President Obama pro- posed a federal minimum wage of $9. The EPI study stated. “When describing who would see a raise if the minimum wage were increased, it is important to look at everyone who earns between the current minimum wage and the proposed new one, as well as workers earning just above the new minimum wage (who would likely also see a small pay increase as employers move to preserve internal wage ladders). The typical worker who would be affected by an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by 2015 is in her early thirties, works full-time, and may have a family to sup- port.” George E. Curry is editor-in- chief of the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service. P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2013 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. To see The Skanner News on your smart phone go to theskannermobile.com or scan this QR code with your app. • • • • • • • • Local news Opinions Jobs, Bids Sports Entertainment Music reviews Bulletin board RSS feeds Big Spenders Miss Important Values Lesson D uring a seminar in Buffalo, N.Y. a few years ago, noted author and financial adviser, Brooke Stephens, said, “How you handle your money is a reflection of how you feel about yourself.” Many of us, including me, may not want to admit it, but there have been times in our lives when we did some pretty stupid things with our money. We spent all we had and then some; we ended up with more month than money; we bought things we thought would bring us satisfac- tion but later found they had little lasting value. As mature adults now, our finan- cial mistakes and indiscretions should be used to help our young people, many of whom find their self-esteem and self-worth in their possessions. And, sadly, the more they pay for those things, the greater their perceived self-worth. Shahrazad Ali once said, “Black folks brag about how much we pay for things, and White folks brag about how little they pay.” Our economic empowerment will never come from spending alone; it will come from ownership of production capacity, distribution channels, real estate, and business- es through which we circulate our dollars among ourselves. Our lifestyles are definitely reflective of our penchant for pur- chasing “top shelf” items and, thus, illuminate our need to impress others with those items. Page 4 The Portland Skanner November 13, 2013 E CONOMIC E MPOWERMENT James Clingman For instance, the television com- mercials featuring various brands of alcohol being promoted by Black icons of the rap music industry carry the subliminal mes- sage of being accepted and affluent. Clothing and shoe com- mercial, a billboard, or a cute jin- gle or saying recited by some superstar? A lot of our purchasing habits really do reflect the saying, “We buy what we want and beg for what we need.” Jonathan Weaver, pastor at Greater Mt. Nebo A.M.E. Church, in Bowie, Md. and founder of the Collective Empowerment Group, conducts a daily prayer teleconfer- ence (712-432-0255; access code 372536#). In a recent session, Pastor Weaver stated, “Know the difference between needs and wants. You need transportation to get to work or your business, but it doesn’t mean you need to buy a ‘Black folks brag about how much we pay for things, and White folks brag about how little they pay’ mercials lull many of us into a continuous state of “I gotta have that.” The automobile ads, espe- cially the high-priced autos, feature all kinds of reasons for going into debt for seven years to drive them. And it goes on and on. When do we get off this train of consumption? How do we begin to establish self-control when it comes to how we handle our money? How do we immunize ourselves against the disease of allowing our wants to morph into needs simply because of a com- $50,000 car. What you need is a ticket to get on the metro or sub- way or bus fare. You need to have some clothes, but you don’t need a $10,000 mink coat.” Weaver went on to add some very important tips, such as, avoiding the use of credit cards, and refraining from “window- shopping,” because you may be drawn into the store and buy something you did not consider until you saw it. (“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things…” Psalm 119:37). Mar- keters, to their credit, know how to turn a consumer’s wants into needs. So, beware of all the ways to get your money out of your pocket and into someone else’s. It all boils down to what Brooke Stephens said about how we view ourselves. We have been so pro- grammed to believe that having “things,” especially the best and highest priced things, is the key to our personal value. We are mes- merized by luxury and excess and have become obedient consumers who will rush out, sleep out, and even knockout someone else just to have the latest fashion, gadget, or whatever anyone is selling. Maybe we can change our tenu- ous and abbreviated relationship with our money by holding on to it a little longer. Maybe we can edu- cate our children and guide them in such a way that they will not make the same mistakes we made when it comes to handling money. Maybe we can gain a new and dif- ferent perspective on ourselves as a people and as individual con- sumers. And, maybe, just maybe, we will take that first giant step toward economic self-reliance and achieve a proportional level of ownership and control of income- producing assets in this country. After all, we have been here since it began, yet we lag far behind where we should be economically, slavery and mistreatment notwith- standing.
