THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2014
PAGE 3A
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EMPLOYMENT
Minimum wage increase affects students
MARK ARCE news@kansan.com
MCCLATCHY TRIBUNE
Protesters chant outside the Wendy's fast food restaurant on Aug. 29 in Rock Hill, Mo.
At the start of the new year, Missouri and Colorado were among 13 states to have their minimum wage levels raised. Missouri's was raised from $7.35 to $7.50 per hour while Colorado's increased from $7.78 to $8 per hour. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 139,000 workers combined will potentially be affected.
AFFECTING STUDENTS
Maria Comerford, a sophomore from Bismarck, Mo., has worked several minimum wage jobs in Missouri. Now working seasonally at an AMC movie theater in the state, she feared losing her job due to the recent increase.
"I was really nervous when they started talking about raising minimum wage," Comerford said. "The movie theater I work at is only four screens, it's an AMC4. so they kinda struggle just to keep movies running. So when you talk about raising minimum wage, the first thing that struggling businesses do is to fire employees they don't need. And since I'm seasonal — since I go to school here — obviously I would be one of the first to go."
She further added, "What good does 25 cents [more] make if you're not making anything?"
Missouri's state minimum wage is the result of a 2006 voter initiative that ties the rate of the state's minimum wage to inflation, but reverts to the federal level if it is higher.
Emily Hoffman, a freshman from Canon City, Colo., has also worked several minimum wage jobs, ranging from a hostess job to a cashier position. She was happy the jobs paid
a higher minimum wage than the national average.
"Who doesn't like more money?" Hoffman said.
Colorado's state minimum wage is calculated based off of a cost-of-living formula, but also reverts to the federal level if it is higher.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The minimum wage is defined as the smallest amount an employer can offer an employee for work. Jobs that pay the minimum wage vary from food industry jobs to agricultural jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, "enterprises" with sales of more than $500,000, schools and individuals that conduct business between states are among the ways employees gain coverage. Also, some jobs, like servers and pizza drivers, are paid $2.19 instead of the federal level because they are expected to make more than the minimum wage due to tips.
dards Act (FLSA) in 1938, it has been raised gradually by Congress more than 10 times. The federal rate has been $7.25 since July 2009.
"So when you talk about raising minimum wage, the first thing that struggling businesses do is to fire employees they don't need."
Raising the minimum wage is not a new issue. Initially established at a rate of 25 cents as a part of the Fair Labor Stan-
MARIA COMERFORD
Sophomore from Bismarck, Mo.
While the debate continues at the federal level, prospects of Kansas' state wage rising seem unlikely.
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 is the most recent legislation to attempt to raise the limit. If passed, the bill would raise the limit to $10.10 an hour by 2015, tipped employees would see their $2.19 wage increase, and the minimum wage would be tied to automatic increases based off of the cost of living.
"There is a federal minimum wage so they just pretty much go along with what the federal minimum wage is," said Don Haider-Markel, a professor of political science at the University. "It's not even an issue that really makes it to debate on the floor of the legislator."
He notes however, that Kansas state government hasn't historically sought more than the federal level. "Even when [Kathleen] Sebelius was governor, it wasn't an agenda item she pushed," Haider-Markel said.
While the minimum wage is more than 70 years old, economists are still split on its effect. Some, like the Employment Policies Institute, which is a right-leaning think tank, believe raising the minimum wage is bad for business. One researcher at the institute found that "for every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, teen employment at small business is estimated to decrease by 4.6 to 9 percent."
Others believe raising the wage doesn't hurt business, but in fact helps increase their income and the economy as
a whole. Increasing the wage amount increases the level of disposable income people working those jobs have and in theory would spend. Others in the same line of thinking believe raising the wage can help lift some workers out of poverty.
The Brookings Institute, a centrist research institute, published an academic paper last summer entitled, "Strategies for Assisting Low Income Families," which assert household earnings, would increase by 19 percent if the wage was increased to $9. In a follow-up article "Raising the Minimum Wage: Will it Help?" raising the wage is advocated as part of a solution to aid low-income families with social mobility.
Professor Joshua Rosenbloom, an economics professor at the University, said both models are constructed by theories. As a result, conclusions reached are not absolutely certain.
"I would say the evidence for either side is less than conclusive," said Rosenbloom.
Edited by Julie Etzler
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