By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

Minimum increase, questionable impact

I don’t know any adults who are working for minimum wage today. I also have difficulty naming any companies that are paying employees less than $7 per hour. These people and companies must exist. But based on the help wanted ads and signs in windows that I see offering $8 or more per hour, I fail to understand how raising the minimum wage is relevant.

These were my comments when we first talked about doing this story. I certainly realized how raising the minimum wage looked good for newly elected Democrats, but I questioned if it would really help the working poor who truly need assistance.

Having said that, I know it would be impossible to live on $5.15 per hour. And most of the 2.2 percent of Iowans who are earning minimum wage or less would certainly welcome — and deserve — an increase. Prior to reading our cover story, I incorrectly assumed that most minimum wage earners were teenagers working part-time jobs, but I was surprised to learn that only 26 percent fit into that category. Our newest investigative reporter, Sean J. Miller, opened my eyes to this and a number of other facts.

I learned how raising the minimum wage will help to raise other wages, which will help the working poor. I also learned how those businesses that will be forced to pay the higher wage will have to raise their prices, which will, in turn, negatively affect the poor once again. It is a vicious circle with the only winner appearing to be the government, which will collect more taxes from each increase. Bottom line, we can all expect to pay more, especially at restaurants, if a minimum wage increase goes through.

I vividly remember the minimum wage increases in the ’90s. I worked for a company that had a commercial printing operation and employed a number of part-time employees to help insert papers. Back then, those jobs paid minimum wage. After the wage increases hit, the higher payroll costs helped justify the purchase of an inserting machine, resulting in most of those jobs being eliminated. That was the reality the company I worked for faced then, and one that many employers will face soon.

As with all of our cover stories, we hope to educate our readers, to give them a different perspective on a subject they are somewhat familiar with. And this story is no exception.

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