The Online NewsHour: Vote 2006 | For Students And Teachers

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REGION: North America

TOPIC: Politics

Online NewsHour

November 1, 2006

Ohio Politicians Talk to Students About Efforts to Increase the Minimum Wage

Student journalist from Children's PressLine taking notes

The federal minimum wage has been $5.15 an hour since 1997.

At this level, a full time minimum wage worker makes about $10,700 per year, which would put a family of two below the poverty level. For this reason, some call the campaign to raise the minimum wage a campaign for a "living wage."

Though twenty-three states have already raised their minimum wage levels above $5.15, one quarter of all Americans who work for minimum wage are teenagers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and many groups continue to debate whether raising the minimum wage would benefit or harm Americans in the long term.

Some conservative policymakers say that raising the minimum would discourage business owners from hiring new workers, therefore eliminating entry-level jobs that young people need to gain work experience. The Heritage Foundation suggests that because more than half of minimum wage earners are under 24, raising the minimum wage would only encourage students to spend less time in school.

Liberal groups argue that minimum wage should be raised. The Economic Policy Institute said today's minimum wage is 30 percent lower than it was in 1979, after adjusting for the increase in the cost of living, and noted that many minimum wage earners do work full time while supporting families.

In Ohio, the issue has come to the forefront, but it is less polarizing because members of both parties favor increasing the minimum wage.

Student journalists from Children's PressLine interviewed Charlie Wilson, a Democratic congressional candidate for the 6th Congressional District in Ohio, and Steve LaTourette, the Republican congressman for Ohio's 14th Congressional District, regarding their views on the federal minimum wage.

Ohio voters will have a chance to have their say on Nov. 7 -- Ohio, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Montana and Nevada all have measures to raise the minimum wage on their midterm election ballots.

-- By Christina Cacioppo, 17; Tom Harkins, 11; Patricia Rogers, 16; and Marina Sandu, 17, from Children's PressLine. Children's PressLine is a youth journalism program based in New York City. This is the third in a series for NewsHour Extra on youth issues in the 2006 Congressional races.

		Would you vote to increase the federal minimum wage?

		Ohio Republicans raised the state's minimum wage from $4.25 to the federal minimum, $5.15, earlier this year. On the federal level, the Senate recently blocked an attempt by Democrats to raise the minimum wage to $7.25. How much would you want to raise it?

		Why do we have minimum wage laws?

		Have you ever had a minimum wage job?

		Who do you think would benefit most from the minimum wage raise that you support?

		Democrats and Republicans in Ohio appear to be in favor of raising the minimum wage? Who do you think would be harmed by raising it?


	Would you vote to increase the federal minimum wage?


	Steven LaTourette (R): Yes.


	Charlie Wilson (D): Yes.


	Ohio Republicans raised the state's minimum wage from $4.25 to the federal minimum, $5.15, earlier this year. On the federal level, the Senate recently blocked an attempt by Democrats to raise the minimum wage to $7.25. How much would you want to raise it?


	Charlie Wilson (D): We're looking at $6.85 to begin with. That's what we're talking about in Ohio, and I believe it would be the same federally. And then, if we see we can do more, we will.


	Steven LaTourette (R): I support increasing it federally to $7.25 over 3 years. ... I voted to increase it in 1997 and earlier this year. We need to increase it because it's been 10 years since it's been increased. If you look at just the rising cost of gas, it doesn't make sense to have such a low minimum wage.


	Why do we have minimum wage laws?


	Steven LaTourette (R): We need to have minimum wage laws to make sure that there's an absolute floor. Minimum wage workers make $10,700 a year, which is the base rate upon which all other jobs rely. It makes a floor for those people who aren't making minimum wage.


	Charlie Wilson (D): It's very important. It's a way to reward honest work with a living wage. The economic benefits when the minimum wage has been raised [before] showed that the people who make minimum wage will naturally spend their money. That's one of the best things to drive our economy. So, we feel that good jobs at a fair wage actually help solve problems rather than create them.


	Have you ever had a minimum wage job?


	Charlie Wilson (D): Yes, I have. I was a student, and I worked in the village that I lived in, and it was for repairing water work, digging holes basically, putting in new water lines and repairing ones that were broken. [The minimum wage at that time was] a buck and a quarter. Certainly it would never make it on today's standards, but it was back in the 1960s, and that's when a gallon of gas was a quarter.


	Steven LaTourette (R): I've had several minimum wage jobs including at a gas station.


	Who do you think would benefit most from the minimum wage raise that you support?


	Steven LaTourette (R): People in minimum wage jobs, single parents, students, and young people.


	Charlie Wilson (D): The starting labor force, and also the people who are working part-time. ... I think a lot of youth, especially with the spiraling cost of education, will have a better opportunity to get more of an education if they can earn more money at their part-time or summer job. ... To me, that's the best economic development tool that we have -- an educated workforce.


	Democrats and Republicans in Ohio appear to be in favor of raising the minimum wage? Who do you think would be harmed by raising it?


	Charlie Wilson (D): The argument is that it will cost small businesses too much money and therefore they'll go out of business or won't be successful. In statistical studies in other states that have raised the minimum wage, that's not the case. The economy has actually grown along with the rate of wage increase.


	Steven LaTourette (R): It would most negatively affect businesses that pay minimum wage. Because of that, I've always supported coupling raising the minimum wage with tax benefits for those businesses so they don't suffer from the strong impact to their bottom line.

FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

	Commentary from the reporters

	For kids in families where the primary wage-earner is making minimum wage, paying for college may be near impossible. Politicians may be saying that education is important and that it can lead to high-paying jobs, but if they don't increase the minimum wage, many kids' parents won't be able to give them the opportunity to get the education that will get them those jobs. More than 65 percent of minimum wage earners are women. When asked about this, Mr. Wilson said that maybe these women take on lower-paying jobs because their husbands have better jobs and make more money. Even if this is true for many women, it does not explain why women are overwhelmingly making up the minimum wage earning group. Also, we wonder how many of these women are single moms -- the sole earner for their family. This is an issue that politicians may not think about on their own. According to published estimates, at least 123 of the 435 members of the House earn more than $1 million and 40 of the 100 senators belong to the Millionaire's Club. But the minimum wage laws need more recognition. Healthcare is out of the question for someone who works a minimum wage job. Being paid $5.15 an hour is not enough to live.

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