Sophisticated, region-by-region approach needed to raise Americans up to a living wage
To the editor: I agree with Ruth Bass that it is time to nix the federal minimum wage in favor of a living wage.
To do so, we must confront the paradox, reported by the Congressional Budget Office, that a uniform $15-per-hour minimum wage would lift 900,000 Americans out of poverty while pushing 1.4 million out of work.
It need not be so. Rather than focus on a uniform $15-per-hour headline number, we should address the wage increase’s intent. The Federal Poverty Level fluctuates with cost of living widely by region, a concept embraced in New York state with its three-zone minimum-wage scheme — New York City, Long Island/Westchester and upstate.
We know that the cost of living for a family of four in Alaska far exceeds costs in Alabama, and we know that higher-income regions can more easily absorb wage increases. Rather than attack national poverty with a machete, why not try a scalpel? Acknowledging that it costs more to live in Seward than Selma, set the federal living wage annually by region, state, county or even city to exceed the FPL while minimizing concomitant job losses where higher employment costs cannot easily be absorbed.
A living wage in excess of the FPL for all Americans is overdue. Setting the federal living wage by geographic region will draw less ire, save more jobs, and undoubtedly lift many working Americans out of poverty.
Peter J. Most, Great Barrington
March 10, 2021 at 11:31PM
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Letter: Sophisticated, region-by-region approach needed to raise Americans up to a living wage - Berkshire Eagle
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