Wages to go up for low earners

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The final installment of a three-part increase in the federal minimum wage is proving to be the most controversial.

Two previous wage increases, one in 2007, the other in 2008, pushed the federal wage to $5.85 and then to the current $6.55 an hour. The third, which goes into effect Friday, will push it to $7.25 an hour.

That’s not a life-changing raise — an extra $28 a week for a full-time worker earning the federal minimum — though low-wage earners such as Kendell Patterson in Oklahoma City, Okla., say it’ll help.

But some economists worry that the wage raise is coming at the worst possible time and will make the recession-battered job market tougher for the very workers it’s intended to help.

The increase will have minimal impact in most states. Eighteen states and the District of Colombia already have minimum wages that are higher or equal to $7.25 an hour. Ohio’s minimum wage became $7.30 on Jan. 1. In nine more, the minimum wage is higher than $6.55 an hour, and so workers in those states will see their wages rise by only a fraction of the 70-cents-an-hour increase, from four cents an hour in Florida to 40 cents an hour in Nevada. In Pennsylvania, it will increase Friday from $7.15 to $7.25.

That leaves 23 states where minimum-wage workers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act will enjoy the full 70-cents-an-hour increase.

Patterson, a 38-year-old child-care worker with two children, can certainly use the extra cash. Most of her $262 weekly paycheck goes for food, utilities, her car payment and $650 per month rent.

Her oldest son, 19, is taking a fast-food job to help with the bills, but Patterson is still looking for a second job on weekends to help make ends meet.

She tried to get food stamps, but her income was too high.

“How can a person who makes minimum wage make too much money?” she said.

Patterson also needs help with her medical bills. She has no health insurance and recently found four lumps in her breast. She also suffers from asthma and takes several anti-seizure medications.

One medication costs $500 for 30-day supply, and the other costs $350, she said. Sometimes her parents help with the costs. Other times, she simply goes without.

Patterson said that although the minimum-wage increase won’t help her very much, even a little help is appreciated because times are so hard.

Some economists argue that with the recession forcing small businesses to lay off people, it would be smart to postpone the increase for a year.

“There’s always a negative impact to a wage hike,” said Kristen Lopez Eastlick, senior economic analyst at the Employment Policies Institute. Eastlick said the increase should be postponed because the higher wage will cause employers to reduce hours for workers and cancel plans for new hires.