WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Raising the minimum wage is not just a “progressive” issue

February 5, 2014

The minimum wage was born in Washington state back in 1937, when the U.S. Supreme Court uphold our state’s right to set a bare minimum on wages.Today, many citizens and lawmakers are advocating for a higher minimum wage to lift the working poor out of poverty. Voters in SeaTac approved a $15 minimum wage last November, which is the same target workers are aiming for in Seattle. Gov. Jay Inslee advocated for a higher minimum wage in his State of the State speech this year.The list of supporters also contains some surprises: long-time conservatives.

Libertarian millionaire Ron Unz is pushing for a $12 minimum wage in California.

Unz isn’t alone in changing his mind about the minimum wage. From the Slate story: “Legislation to raise the minimum wage would elevate many low-wage earners above the income threshold that qualifies them for benefits,” wrote conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, “and should result in reduced welfare spending.” This is what progressive also point to, saying it’s wrong for average taxpayers to provide food stamps, health care and other benefits to people working full-time for some of the biggest, most profitable corporations in the world. They see it as a hidden subsidy by taxpayers to the wealthy, taken from the pocketbooks of a shrinking middle class.

Unz makes the same point about decent wages building a strong middle class:

When Henry Ford doubled the wages of his assembly line workers, it was “a crucial factor in creating the prosperous middle class that eventually dominated America’s 20th-century history.”