Do you know what’s a really good idea? Increasing the federal minimum wage.
Before launching into why, let’s first see when and at what level the wage was last set. Gosh, it was way back in July, 2009. So, if you had a baby in July, 2009, your child is now in eighth grade. If your kid started kindergarten in the fall of ’09, that youngster is now thinking about their sophomore year in college… or perhaps a second year in the workforce. If work is their focus, let’s hope compensation is better than minimum wage, fearing it may not be.
The federal minimum wage hasn’t moved in almost 14 years, when it was set at $7.25. It’s past time to make an adjustment, while admitting there’s another alternative. We could somehow mandate across-the-board, price rollbacks to 2009 levels. Several examples: $2.58 for a gallon of gas, versus $3.50 today; $1.65 for a dozen eggs ($3.54 today); $3.03 for a gallon of milk ($4.38 today); $3.58 for a “Big Mac” ($5.81 today). Looking at two service items during this period, haircuts are almost 42 percent higher; dental services are 45 percent higher.
Yes, a paycheck represents far more than just gas in the tank or milk in the fridge. There’s pride of accomplishment and the dignity of earning your own way. Psychic satisfaction, however, is much more difficult when you’re compensated at a rate that literally minimizes your contribution to society, when you’re locked in at the same level your wage would have been 14 years ago.
“Makes sense,” is now being muttered by many readers given the preceding paragraphs, “… but the American public will never go for that.” Ha. Actually, a PBS NewsHour/NPR/ Marist poll taken several months ago indicates the public is well ahead of elected officials on this issue: 64 percent of Americans, almost two-thirds, think we should raise the minimum wage, including a whopping 71 percent of the generation born between 1997 and 2012. (Think of that 2009 kindergartner cited above.) Closer to home, a poll conducted by “Progress Iowa” indicated an even higher 81 percent of Iowans think Iowa’s minimum wage should be raised.
So, what’s holding us back? Interestingly, another group known by the acronym “NRA” -- the National Restaurant Association -- is a major force keeping wages down, a battle they engage in with seemingly endless resources. How can this be, especially the “endless resource” part? The Association has devised an ingenious scheme to fund their lobbying, routing dollars from those whose checks might otherwise grow to simply maintaining the status quo. You must respect their cleverness.
As reported recently in the New York Times, this NRA owns a major business venture, “Servsafe,” a food safety program developed by industry lobbyists, not public health professionals. They lobbied successfully to make their training a requirement in numerous states. Frequently, low-wage, entry-level workers must fork over money for mandatory training. The Association then funnels these funds toward their lobbying efforts. Brilliant!
The National Restaurant Association is among the most powerful lobbies in the United States, representing the interests of major chain corporations, including large, full-service operations like Darden (Olive Garden/LongHorn Steakhouse), Dine Brands (IHOP/Applebee’s), Denny’s, and Disney… a cohort known as the “Four D’s”. Americans are unlikely to attain a fair minimum wage when companies opposed to paying more can thwart popular efforts without transparency, accountability, or public knowledge. I’m simply calling them out.
And what might a fairer minimum wage mean for Iowans? According to state legislators who favor an increase to $15/hour, it would boost earnings for 400,000+ Iowa workers and bolster state spending by $1.6 billion. Until and unless Iowa addresses this wage issue, however, we’ll continue to bleed workers into neighboring Minnesota, Illinois, South Dakota, and Missouri, all having increased their minimum wage in 2020. (Wait, we’re behind South Dakota? And… Missouri? Yep!)
An obvious conclusion: We can, we must, do better. It’s time. Let’s reset the minimum wage to $15/hour and make life considerably better for everybody.
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Columnists
Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights
Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll
Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines
Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake
Suzanna de Baca Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley
Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County
Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji
Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames
Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines
Nik Heftman, The Seven Times, Iowa and California
Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla
Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines
Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo
Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames
Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey
Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa
Kurt Meyer, Showing Up, St. Ansgar
Kyle Munson, Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines
Jane Nguyen, The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines
John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines
Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines
Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.
Macy Spensley, The Midwestern Creative, Davenport/Des Moines
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona
Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona
Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County
Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport
Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines
To receive a weekly roundup of all Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnists, sign up here (free): ROUNDUP COLUMN
We are proud to have an alliance with Iowa Capital Dispatch.