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Fight Poverty: Pass Living Wage
Ordinance
The Commercial Appeal -
Commentary 1/22/04
In the United States, we have always
promised people that if they
work hard, they will be able to
take care of themselves and their
children.
For many low-wage workers in
Memphis, this promise does not
ring true. The proposed living
wage ordinance that may be
considered by the Memphis City
Council asks our community
to live up to that American dream.
Consider what it would mean to raise
a family on the wages of
a child care worker, one of the fastest
growing occupations in
our area. The entry level wage for such
workers is an average
of $5.88 an hour - just $11,760 a year if
you work full time for
50 weeks. Could you pay for rent,
utilities, groceries, gas,
clothing and child care on such a
wage? Common sense, backed
up by a study by economist David
Ciscel of the University of
Memphis, says it's not possible to
meet basic expenses on
such a wage.
Those who work for a living should
be able to make a living. This
is especially true for jobs that
are subsidized by taxpayer
dollars. That's why the Memphis
living wage ordinance would
require the City of Memphis, city
contractors, and companies
that receive subsidies such as
property tax abatements to
pay their workers at least $20,000 a
year, or $10 an hour, with
health insurance benefits.
It is immoral to ask people to work
full time but pay them so
little that they remain mired in
poverty. As a person of faith, I
believe that God asks us to
respond to poverty not just by
generous charitable giving, but
also by ensuring that the jobs in
our local economy pay enough
to meet a family's basic needs.
In addition to being a moral
imperative, a living wage ordinance
is also a sound business
practice for our city. The Industrial
Development Board and the
Center City Commission give
tax abatements to some businesses
that are poverty-wage
employers. For example, Ledbetter Packing
Co. received a
four-year tax abatement in 2000, saving it more
than $375,000.
According to information gathered last summer by
the Memphis
Living Wage Coalition, the meatpacking jobs
Ledbetter creates in
return for this public subsidy pay a
starting wage of $6.50 an hour,
without health care for the
first 60 days of work.
When we as a community freeze
property taxes for a business,
while private citizens continue
to pay property taxes, it is only
fair to expect quality jobs
with quality pay in return. The living
wage ordinance would
reward businesses that compete based
on innovation and quality
products, instead of rewarding those
who undercut competitors
with poverty pay.
Opponents charge that the living
wage proposal is an unnatural
intervention in the market, but
society already shapes markets
in many ways to achieve certain
moral and economic ends.
Human slavery and child labor were
banned because no matter
how profitable, they were and are
immoral. The very existence
of tax abatements for selected
companies is an intervention in
the market, for the stated
purpose of economic development.
In the past 10 years, more than 100
local governments across
the country have passed living wage
ordinances. Comparisons of
cities with living wage laws to those
without one, including a
study by former living wage opponent
David Neumark, have found
that such ordinances bring significant
income gains for low-wage
workers and do not cause the loss of
jobs. After completing his
2000 study, Neumark told Business
Week: "I'm no longer ready to
dismiss these policies out of
hand."
A new study of cities with living
wage laws covering business
subsidies found that only in rare cases
were those communities
limited in their ability to attract
desired employers. The study,
published by the Brennan Center
for Justice at New York
University School of Law, found that
living wage requirements
for city contracts cost the public very
little: less than one-tenth
of one percent of the overall local
budget on average.
To understand some of the positive
economic effects the
living wage ordinance could have on
Memphis, drive through
Orange Mound, or my neighborhood,
Binghampton. Imagine
these neighborhoods filled with workers
earning a living wage,
helping spur their neighborhood economies
by spending money
in supermarkets and other local businesses. It
would be less
likely that they would have to rely on community
services such
as emergency medical care, food stamps, or
subsidized housing.
Some working parents could chose to quit
their second or third
job to spend more time with their
children.
Whether we as a community want to
reduce poverty due to the
economic ills that face or city, or
because we feel compelled to
respond to the suffering of
low-wage workers and their families,
few steps are as important
as passing the living wage.
Guest Columnist Rev. Rebekah Jordan
is a United Methodist
minister and executive director of
Mid-South Interfaith Network
for Economic Justice.
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