In Our View: Minimum Wage Primer

Arguments over the minimum wage typically are theoretical at best and misleading at worst. Proponents of raising the pay for low-wage workers say it is a matter of fairness and that the action will help businesses by providing more spending money for consumers. Opponents say that such raises will cause fewer workers to be employed and will harm businesses by increasing their costs.

And while Washington has been a laboratory for such debates, the state might soon get some answers from the petri dish that is Oregon. The state to the south is adopting a minimum-wage law that will be the first in the nation to mandate higher pay in cities than in rural areas. The new law will enact minimum-wage increases over the next six years that will eventually reach $14.75 an hour in Portland, $13.50 in some rural areas, and $12.50 in sparsely populated areas.

Oregon’s minimum wage currently is $9.75 an hour, one of the highest in the nation and well above the federal minimum of $7.25. Washington’s minimum was set by voter initiative in 1998, and has reached $9.47 with annual cost-of-living increases. It is a sign of the national climate that until recently, Washington had the nation’s highest minimum wage, yet now it ranks eighth among the states.

Meanwhile, the misleading portion of the equation continues to come into play. When Seattle approved an incremental minimum-wage increase to $15 an hour, stories arose about restaurants closing because of the pending boost, and those stories were echoed by conservative outlets. The problem with that narrative, The Seattle Times discovered, was that the number of restaurants closing was not unusual; the proprietors of those restaurants were not closing because of the wage increase and, when asked, said it had nothing to do with the minimum wage; and at least one of the owners used as an example was closing one restaurant while opening multiple other locations in the city.

Of course, discussion over the minimum wage and conflicting information about it is nothing new to Washington. Seattle’s $15 minimum for large companies will be in place by next year, and SeaTac in 2013 approved an increase to $15 for service workers. So, while the debates shall continue as a national talking point — Republican candidates for president have said they will not raise the federal minimum, while both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side advocate for an increase — Oregon might be doing Washington a favor.

Culturally and environmentally similar, Washington and Oregon often can heed the lessons learned from their neighbors, and Oregon’s creative approach to raising the minimum wage will bear watching for policymakers in Washington.

Of course, as The Columbian has argued editorially in the past, the best way for a worker to increase their wages is to improve their skills. Developing skills that are valuable to employers — whether through education or experience or natural talent — is the surest way to increase income. That remains true and is a fact that should not be overshadowed by the discussion over wages for low-skilled workers.

Ideally, that discussion eventually will move beyond the theoretical as evidence mounts to prove or disprove the impact that a vast minimum-wage increase can have on the economy. Seattle is providing one laboratory, and now Oregon will provide another, allowing for facts to supplant the rhetoric on both sides of the issue.