[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 110 (Friday, July 30, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1683-E1684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TIME TO INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE: THERE IS A HIGH COST FOR LOW WAGES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 29, 1999

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, with 126 of our distinguished colleagues, I 
am a cosponsor of the bill, H.R. 325, which was introduced by our 
colleagues Congressman David Bonior and Democratic Leader Richard A. 
Gephardt. Our legislation would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to 
$5.65 on September 1, 1999, and from $5.65 to $6.15 on September 1, 
2000. An identical bill has been introduced in the Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, the present minimum wage is a poverty wage. A single 
mother, with two children, working at minimum wage earns thousands of 
dollars less than the poverty level.

[[Page E1684]]

You just cannot raise a family on $5.15 an hour. As Barbara Ehrenreich 
said in an essay entitled ``The High Cost of Low Wages'' which appeared 
in America @ Work: ``Even in an economy celebrating unequaled 
prosperity, a person can work hard, full-time or even more, and not 
make enough to live on, at least if she intends to live indoors.''
  It is essential that we increase the minimum wage, Mr. Speaker, in 
order to prevent further erosion of the purchasing power of low-wage 
workers. An increase in the minimum wage will serve as an important 
means for people to gain independence from government income support 
programs. It will boost worker morale and increase worker productivity.
  Mr. Speaker, we can afford to increase the minimum wage--and now is 
the time to do it. Our nation has now experienced the longest peacetime 
expansion in our country's history. The unemployment rate has fallen to 
4.4%, the lowest rate in a generation. Inflation remains extremely low. 
Based on recent studies, there would be no adverse effects on 
employment or job opportunities with the implementation of the proposed 
increases in the minimum wage. The 1996-1997 increase of the minimum 
wage serves as an example of the effect of such an increase upon our 
economy. Two months after the 1997 increase the national unemployment 
rate actually dropped one full percentage point. Raising the minimum 
wage is good for the economy. The extra money gets spent at the grocery 
store, at the hardware store, and throughout the local community.
  Mr. Speaker, approximately, ten to twelve million Americans will 
benefit from this legislation. Minimum wage workers are a significant 
part of our workforce. Over half of these workers are women. Almost 
three-fourths are adults. Half of those who will benefit from this bill 
work full-time, and 80% of them work over twenty hours per week. They 
are providers of child care. They are teachers' aides. They are single 
heads of households with children. These are hard-working people who 
deserve a fair living wage.
  Barbara Ehrenreich, the author of over a dozen books on politics and 
society, authored a particularly good essay on the consequences of the 
low wages and the implications of increasing the minimum wage--``The 
High Cost of Low Wages''--which appeared in the AFL-CIO publication 
America @ Work. Mr. Speaker, her article is particularly insightful. I 
urge my colleagues to read Ms. Ehrenreich's article, and I urge them to 
support the adoption of H.R. 325.

                       The High Cost of Low Wages

       Last summer I undertook an unusual journalistic experiment: 
     I set out to see whether it is possible to live on the kind 
     of wages available to low-skilled workers. I structured my 
     experiment around a few rules: I had to find the cheapest 
     apartment and best-paying job I could, and I had to do my 
     best to hold it--no sneaking off to read novels in the ladies 
     room or agitating for a Union.
       So, in early June, I moved out of my home near Key West and 
     into a $500 efficiency apartment about a 45-minute drive from 
     town. I would have preferred the trailer park right on the 
     edge of town, but they wanted over $600 a month for a one-
     person trailer.
       Finding a job turned out to be a little harder than I'd 
     expected, given all the help-wanted signs in town. Finally at 
     one of the big corporate discount hotels where I'd applied 
     for a housekeeping job, I was told they needed a waitress in 
     the associated ``family restaurant.''
       The pay was only $2.43 an hour, but I figured with tips, I 
     would do far better than I would have at the supermarket 
     which was offering $6 an hour and change.
       I was wrong. Business was slow, and tips averaged 10% or 
     less, even for the more experienced ``girls.'' I was curious 
     as to how my fellow workers managed to pay their rent. The 
     immigrant dishwashers (from Haiti and the Czech Republic) 
     mostly lived in dormitory-type situations or severely over-
     crowded apartments. As for the servers, some were technically 
     homeless. They just didn't think of themselves that way 
     because they had cars or vans to sleep in. I was shocked to 
     find that a few were sharing motel rooms costing $40 to $60 a 
     night, and I'm talking about middle-aged women, not kids. 
     When I naively suggested to one co-worker that she could save 
     a lot of money by getting an apartment, she pointed out that 
     the initial expense--a month's rent in advance and security 
     deposit--was way out of her reach.
       Meanwhile, my own financial situation was declining 
     perilously. The money I saved on rent was being burned up as 
     gas for my commuting. I was spending too much on fast food. I 
     began to realize it's actually more expensive to be poor than 
     middle class: You pay more for food, especially in 
     convenience stores, you pay to get checks cashed; and you can 
     end up paying ridiculous prices for shelter.
       I decided to redouble my efforts to survive. First, I got a 
     waitressing job at a higher-volume restaurant where my pay 
     averaged about $7.50 an hour. Then I moved out of my 
     apartment and into the trailer park, calculating that, 
     without the commute, I'd be able to handle an additional job. 
     For a total of three days altogether, I did work two jobs--
     including a hotel housekeeping job I finally landed.
       At the end of the month, I had to admit defeat. I had 
     earned less than I spent, and the only things I spent money 
     on were food, gas and rent. If I had had children to care for 
     and support--like many of the women now coming off welfare--I 
     wouldn't have lasted a week.
       But my experiment did succeed in showing that, even in an 
     economy celebrating unequaled prosperity, a person can work 
     hard, full-time or even more, and not make enough to live on, 
     at least if she intends to live indoors. I left thinking that 
     if this were my real life, I would become an agitator in no 
     time at all, or at least a serious nuisance.

     

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