Editorials

Against Issue No. 5

How to ignore the economic realities

Will you see Issue No. 5 on the ballot a week from Tuesday? Of course--or maybe of course not. Have the ballots been printed already? If so, would any votes for or against the minimum wage proposal be counted?

This is what can happen in the United States of litigious America, where nothing is settled until the lawsuits are. As of this writing, the courts haven't ruled whether those who favor raising the minimum wage in this state got their signatures in on time, and therefore whether the ballot initiative is legit. Strength.

But one thing's for sure: No matter what the courts eventually rule this week or next, much the same proposal will be put before the voters of Arkansas some day. Because if only at superficial glance, it sounds so good. Who could be against raising wages?

Yet the voters of Arkansas ought to nix this idea if it gets to them by next Tuesday. However good the notion of raising the minimum wage by force of law may sound at first.

It's hard to come down too heavily on those pushing the idea. After all, they seem a decent lot. And what could be wrong with giving folks a raise? Especially in these economic times. This particular act would raise the minimum wage in stages--from $6.25 an hour to $8.50 by January of 2017. That would mean about a $4,600 raise every year for those hard-working folks who are paid the minimum wage.

But it might be more accurate to say such a mandatory raise would mean somewhere in the neighborhood of a $4,600 raise every year for those who are paid the minimum--and still keep their jobs if this thing passes.

Does anybody really believe that employers are just going to eat this latest increase in their cost of doing business? Unlikely. Those who do the hiring and paying and promoting in this economy, and--most relevant--who must balance their books while doing all that would then have two choices: (1) Pay fewer people to do the same jobs, or (2) Raise prices for whatever product or service they sell, which hurts those folks making minimum wage when they go shopping.

Those who'd have you vote to raise the minimum wage tell of young families trying to make ends meet, of moms and dads just trying to get along in the world, and don't we all deserve a chance to prosper? Yes! But just in case you missed it, here's a news item that might have been lost in all the hullabaloo surrounding this issue:

Back in the spring, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics came out with a report about minimum-wage workers. It won't surprise you to learn that most of those who make that kind of money are young. About half are younger than 25 years old. Only about 2 percent are married. And only 10 percent work full-time.

Most minimum-wage workers, as you'd expect, look like the kid at the pizza joint down the street who's living at home and trying to pay his car insurance. Or the college student who works three nights a week for a little gas money.

And those are the kids who can find jobs in the first place. Over the summer, the state of Arkansas issued its own report, showing that the unemployment rate for Arkansas' teens is almost triple the state's overall unemployment rate. Those who keep up with these things say the unemployment rate for 16- to 19-year-olds in this state is . . . 16.8 percent.

Sixteen-point-eight percent. Why would anybody vote to raise that rate?

Arkansas has a better option than raising the minimum wage (and its unemployment rate) right now and just waiting for the pink slips to be handed out--

Wait and see.

Case in point: The beautiful city of Seattle, with its not so beautiful political leadership, has passed legislation raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The raise will be phased in beginning this April.

Another city you might have heard of, Los Angeles, is planning to raise its minimum wage to $13.25 by 2017.

Why not wait and see how a hike in the minimum wage affects unemployment and prices in those cities? You know, the way the rest of the country is looking to see how Colorado is handling legal dope. To judge from dispatches, Colorado isn't handling it well. Not at all well. And we'd guess that unemployment in Seattle and the price of a burger in L.A. would both spike after those cities' new minimum-wage laws go into effect. But we could be proven wrong (or even right) in short order. We'll see. If we have the patience to wait and see.

So let's give it a while. Which means voting Against Issue No. 5 on your ballot--that is, if it makes your ballot.

Editorial on 10/25/2014

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