U.S. Senator Patty Murray recently wrote a re-election campaign op-ed in the Seattle Times stating that every worker in America deserves to earn a minimum wage of $12. Murray’s editorial followed the introduction of her proposal, called the “Raise the Wage Act,” in the Senate, a proposal she knows will go nowhere now she is in the minority in that body. Along with automatically raising the federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $12 for nearly 38 million workers, the legislation would also “eliminate an exemption for restaurants and other companies that allows them to pay tipped workers less than the minimum wage.”
Murray points to the “inspiring” $15 minimum wage mandates in Seattle and SeaTac and suggests that Washington State – even though it already has the highest state minimum wage in the country – is a “beacon of light for efforts to raise wages.” She also states that she is “proud to bring these Washington state values to Washington, D.C.” Attempting to drive her argument, Murray claims that Washington is “proving every single day… that putting more money in workers’ pockets creates jobs, boosts the economy and is a critical component of broad economic growth.”
But, as the Washington Policy Center contends, there is one demographic of workers in Washington that Murray is ignoring in her favorable assessment of the minimum wage hikes: teens. The Washington Policy Center,
“Washington has consistently had one of the highest teen unemployment rates in the country. Washington’s unemployment rate for 16-19 year olds was 23% last year, while the national average was 19%. And that is the best showing our state has had years—in 2013 our state’s teen unemployment rate was a staggering 31%, compared to 23% nationally; in 2012 it was 28.7% and in 2011 it was 30.4%. In fact, since 2002, well before the recession, in all but one year Washington ranked among the top ten states with the highest number of unemployed tees. Washington also has had the nation’s highest minimum wage (currently $9.47). A multitude of studies show there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the two…
“That doesn’t bode well for young workers in Seattle as that city’s new $15 minimum wage takes effect. At 31%, Seattle’s teen unemployment rate is already one of the highest in the nation among large metro areas. Imagine how much more difficult it will be for teens with no work experience to find a job when employers must pay them $15 per hour…
“Senator Murray says Washington’s high minimum wage is a story of shared success for employers, workers and the economy. She is forgetting about the one in four young people in Washington who want to work but can’t find a job. Their chances at long-term success erode the longer they remain unemployed.”
Murray’s belief that raising the federal minimum wage to $12 per hour in order to protect and improve the lives of workers reveals her short-sighted understanding of economics – and her focus on her 2016 re-election campaign.
Career Senator Mom In Tennis Shoes hasn’t a clue as to what is happening to the middle class that her liberal progressive Democratic Party has slowly pushed to the poverty level with their socialist programs that are a complete failure. This is just another example of government overregulation in a capitalistic society.
Green teeth Murray doesn’t have a clue, period.
Gee, what else might have affected teen employment here?
The University of Washington, Washington State University, Western Washington University and Eastern Washington University all reported increases in student population, including some record numbers.
WSU reports second-highest enrollment in history
So, more and more of our teenagers want higher education — which would increase their earning power in the long term — instead of dead-end, low-paying jobs. The liberal response is to ensure a spot in our public colleges and universities for every qualified graduate of a Washington high school who wants higher education. The conservative response is to do absolutely nothing of any kind whatsoever to help teenagers improve their education, but instead to cut their wages, requiring them to work more hours to cover the costs of tuition and textbooks, and leaving them with less time to study.
I really can’t understand why you guys keep losing the youth vote.