To the editor:

Recently, it was said the 2007 minimum wage bill was “bad economic policy.” I feel these statistics deserve consideration.

The 2008 federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $1,767 a month, or at $10.19 per hour, far higher than today’s minimum wage. Given the guideline’s $21,204 base annual income, the $13,920 annual minimum wage is far lower.

Minimum wage dependents face these average monthly costs: $652 for rent, $678 for groceries, $370-$860 for child care. Yearly health insurance premiums exceed a minimum wage worker’s entire annual salary.

Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage’s highest point was in 1968. It would require more than $9 per hour just to match 1968’s level today. Housing and other expenses have skyrocketed since 1968.

When a minimum wage worker must choose groceries or the electric bill, when missing a few days work from illness can mean they can’t make rent, the disgraceful inequity is obvious.

In contrast, the average salary for a KU faculty member in 2008 is $87,894, up 6 percent from 2007. The chance a minimum wage worker can attain this salary is slim, since meeting basic needs is often a daily struggle.

Minimum wage is about more than a paycheck. It’s a statement of how much the state values its workers. Given the widespread opposition to provide millions of Americans even the lowest of what is considered a living wage, it’s obvious that value is $6.55 an hour. Some value.

Steve Craven,
Lawrence