[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 28 (Monday, February 13, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E333]] supporting the Colon Cancer Screening and Prevention Act.
        OPPOSING THE MINIMUM WAGE IS BAD POLICY AND BAD POLITICS

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                        HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 9, 1995
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I am inserting in the Record a column by 
Gregory Freeman that appeared in the February 7, 1995, edition of the 
St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I have long contended that if you want 
Americans to work, you must pay them a living wage. Inflation has 
reduced the real income of minimum wage workers by almost 50 cents 
since the last time the minimum wage was raised. Stated another way, 
minimum wage workers have seen wages decrease by 12 percent. A 12-
percent reduction in real earnings, when one is only earning $4.25 an 
hour to begin with, raises the very real specter that, despite their 
best efforts, a worker will be unable to support his or her family. 
Two-thirds of all minimum wage workers are adults. Fifty percent of all 
minimum wage workers are providing half of their families' total 
income. Opposing an increase in the minimum wage will only serve to 
drive even more families deeper into poverty. That is bad policy. As 
the following article clearly indicates, it is also bad politics. I 
commend Mr. Freeman's article to the attention of my colleagues.
              [From the St. Louis Dispatch, Feb. 7, 1995]

                 GOP Stance on Wage Irks Working Widow

                          (By Gregory Freeman)

       Barbara A. is having second thoughts about her votes in 
     November for the ``Republican revolution.''
       Back in November, Barbara voted for John Ashcroft for 
     senator and Jim Talent for Congress. She was thrilled 
     election night when she learned that Republicans had taken 
     over the House and the Senate.
       ``I was tired of the same old thing,'' Barbara said. ``Lots 
     of promises, nothing getting done. The Democrats fighting the 
     Republicans. The Republicans fighting the Democrats. I 
     figured, `Let's give the Republicans a chance. They can't do 
     any worse.'''
       But now she's wondering. The issues are starting to hit 
     home. And Barbara's afraid the hitting's being done below the 
     belt.
       Barbara is a clerical worker for a parochial school. The 
     job pays $4.25 an hour--minimum wage. It's not much, she 
     realizes--her annual salary is below the poverty level--but 
     it's a job and it pays the bills. A proud woman, she says 
     she'd never even consider going on welfare.
       Barbara likes her job because it's close to her home. On 
     nice days, she can walk to work and save gasoline. She also 
     enjoys her job because she gets to see kids each day.
       But Barbara also laments that her job doesn't pay more. A 
     widow in her late 20s, Barbara has difficulty getting by from 
     payday to payday. When her husband was alive, the two of them 
     were able to scrape up enough money to get by. But he died 
     last year of cancer, and life's not easy without him. She's 
     trying to save up so she can return to school, but it seems 
     the harder she tries, the harder it gets.
       That's why Barbara's puzzled by the Republican opposition 
     to President Bill Clinton's proposal to raise the minimum 
     wage by 90 cents an hour over two years.
       ``I'm working,'' she said. ``I'm not taking handouts. I'm 
     not on welfare. I'm trying to get by. So I can't understand 
     why these politicians don't want me to get 90 cents for what 
     I do. The Republicans promised to be for the average 
     person.''
       It is bewildering, frankly.
       A majority of the Republicans in Congress are against 
     increasing the minimum wage--this time. There wasn't much 
     opposition by Republicans to an increase in the minimum wage 
     the last time it was proposed in 1990 by Republican President 
     George Bush. Some of the same people now critical of the 
     proposed increase voted for it under Bush.
       The cost of living has gone up in five years. Why shouldn't 
     the minimum wage increase as well?
       Of course, it always seems that the people who oppose an 
     increase in the minimum wage are people who don't work at the 
     minimum wage. Those yelling the most--those in Congress--have 
     voted themselves six-figure salaries over the years, yet they 
     begrudge the working poor 90 cents.
       Just who are these working poor who work at minimum wage?
       Most are not teen-agers and minorities, as some might 
     expect, researchers say. Instead, a majority of those in such 
     jobs are people like Barbara--white women.
       According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 70 
     percent of minimum wage earners are white and more than three 
     out of every five are women. The center estimates that 4.2 
     million workers paid by the hour in 1993 earned minimum wage 
     or less, representing 6.6 percent of all hourly workers.
       The 90 cents an hour comes to $36 a week--less, once taxes 
     are taken out. That may not seem like much to some. But for 
     people in small towns making minimum wage at a factory, or 
     department store clerks, or cooks, or folks like Barbara, 
     that could make a real difference.
       ``I count my pennies every week,'' Barbara said. ``I try to 
     be as frugal as I can. But an increase in the minimum wage 
     would sure go a long way.''
       Opponents insist that any raise in the minimum wage would 
     hurt the economy, forcing employers to lay off workers. 
     Proponents say that an increase could actually result in more 
     jobs being created. Both sides cite studies that back their 
     views.
       Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, says 
     the country would be better served by getting rid of minimum 
     wage altogether.
       For Barbara, life won't end if the minimum wage isn't 
     increased. It will just serve as a lesson in politics.
       ``It seems like every politician wants to be for the 
     working person when election time rolls around,'' she said. 
     ``But as soon as it comes time for them to stand up for you 
     and be counted, then they abandon you.''
     

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