Let Justice Roll - Raise the State and Federal Minimum Wage

Professors debate ‘living wage' rate, fairness
By James Tyree
The Oklahoman, 11/14/07

NORMAN — The federal minimum wage rose by 70 cents this year to $5.85 per hour, but advocates for a "living wage” say that is not enough.

A single adult must earn at least $9.92 per hour to care for all needs, said University of Central Oklahoma assistant professor Kenneth Kickham, and bigger households need more.

Kickham showed a chart during the Living Wages for Oklahomans Forum that had a one adult-one child home needing a job that pays $15.50 per hour. The forum was Monday at First Presbyterian Church in Norman.

The professor said a problem is that poverty is measured by a 1955 standard that set household expenses as three times higher than its food bill. He said expenses today are closer to six times the family's average cost for groceries.

"It's a measurement problem,” he said.

Lex Holmes, an OU economics professor and former state secretary of finance and revenue, said the economic market determines wages, adding it's the fairest way.

One employee could be struggling at home with an ailing relative, and another could live in a wealthy household. Alluding to Kickham's graphs, Holmes said it would be unfair to pay them differently if both have the same job and are equally productive.

"That raises a fundamental question of fairness and justice,” he said.

Most panelists urged raising wages in general, arguing it wouldn't harm the economy. Kickham said national productivity has risen about 3 percent per year from 2001 through 2005 while Oklahoma wages have declined one-third of 1 percent.

Kasey Churchwell said raising wages would benefit her family and the people she meets as a case worker for Food and Shelter for Friends.

She and her husband are getting by, she said, Kasey Churchwell, a case manager for Food and Shelter for Friends, said she and her husband now feel blessed to get by, but another $200 per month would make a huge difference.

Churchwell recalled telling her 9-year-old son he had to quit tae kwon do lessons so the family could pay a high utility bill. But many of the working poor who receive help from her organization face tougher choices.

"It's really hard for parents to watch their children suffer because of their inadequacies,” she said. "It's not fair.”

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have set their minimum wage above the federal $5.85. Washington state has the highest at $7.93 this year and $8.07 in 2008.

The national group Let Justice Roll is a national coalition that works to raise federal, state, and national minimum-wage levels. A Norman meeting is at 7 p.m. Nov. 26 at First Presbyterian Church.

Barbara Boyd, University of Oklahoma outreach director for religious studies, said the Golden Rule and similar principles from other faiths must compel individuals and society to give whatever necessary to improve the lives of the working poor.

"Until we consider the lowest paid person as our brother or sister, we will not be a nation with a living wage,” said Boyd, also a Presbyterian minister. "Gandhi said, ‘If I have two chairs and you have none, then I am a thief.'”