As the business opposition to the SeaTac vote to increase the minimum wage to $15 fights on, and the new Seattle mayor moves to make that the law for Seattle employees, too, I offer you this headline from the business section of the Nov. 5 Columbian: “As U.S. economy plods along and pay lags, companies reap big profits,” note the word “lags.”
It requires wages of just under $15 an hour to live here in not-so-expensive Clark County and probably more to live in Seattle. Earning $15 for honest work is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Let’s hope we all don’t have to find out just how hard it is to live on the uniquely high, but insufficient Washington state minimum wage of $9.32.
Consider the 1.3 million who have been claiming unemployment benefits for many months. They have little chance of finding a job in this economy, where there are three times as many unemployed as there are jobs available. Their benefits have been cut off by well-paid legislators in D.C. Congress members apparently do not care.
Some day there will be another election. Let’s not forget how this “don’t care, don’t give a damn” Congress has comported itself.
