In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called for a raise in the federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour up to $9 per hour by 2015. He also proposed the federal minimum wage be indexed to inflation.
House Speaker John Boehner immediately rejected the proposal, calling it a "job killer" and saying that many people earning the minimum wage "are being paid that because they come to the workforce with no skills." Mr. Boehner's assertions require comment.
With regard to the effects of the proposed raise on employment, the impact is uncertain. Predictions by employer groups suggest raising the federal minimum wage would cost jobs. Worker advocates say raising the minimum wage would boost the economy by putting more money into the hands of lower-income Americans who are likely to spend it. There are also studies that predict little effect on employment.
Regarding empirical evidence, 18 states have hourly rates above the federal minimum. Some of these states have unemployment above the national average, some at it and some below. No one really knows how a raise will affect employment.
It is true many minimum-wage earners lack the skills to be doctors, lawyers or members of Congress. That is no basis to deny them a living wage. Various studies show the federal minimum wage has lost 30 percent of its purchasing power in recent decades.
If the minimum wage had kept pace with the cost of living since 1968, it would now equal $10.56. If the minimum wage were to rise to $9 per hour, a full-time minimum wage worker would earn roughly $18,000 a year, which is still well below the poverty level for a family of four, about $23,000.
As House speaker, Mr. Boehner earns $223,500 per year. Moreover, Congress receives an automatic cost-of-living adjustment unless it rejects it. Mr. Boehner's opposition to raising the minimum wage has little scientific basis and no moral justification.
DON STEINER
Schenectady