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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
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or scan this QR code
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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.