Wages
Continued from Page 1
find a way to lift people up. Those
people at the bottom of the ladder
need to be brought up to a decent
living wage.”
Retired UNL economics profes
sor Wallace Peterson testified that
current poverty levels were at a
point where families that live on
minimum wage just couldn’t cut it.
Peterson said an adult working
full time at minimum wage earns
$8,840, below the poverty line of
$12,000.
“An increase in minimum wage
to $5.15 per hour would still not
bring a family up to the poverty
line,” he said, “for the shortfall
would be $ 1,288. Still sizable, but
much better than the current situa
tion.”
But Peterson said the minimum
wage issue went beyond econom
ics.
“It is a matter of justice,” he said,
“of how we treat people at the lower
rungs of the economic and social
ladder.
“This won’t cure the problem,
but it’s a step in the right direction,”
he said after testifying.
Iowa Democratic state Sen.
Mike Gronstahl was on hand to tes
tify that his state had not experi
enced any problems since it raised
the minimum wage to $4.65 in
1989.
“It is a matter of
justice, of how we treat
people at the lower
rungs of the economic
and social ladder. ”
WALLACE PETERSON
Retired economics professor
Gronstahl also told the commit
tee that current legislation in Iowa
proposed raising the minimum
wage to $6.
Wesely said opponents of the bill
would say small businesses would
be negatively affected by a pay
raise, but he asked the committee
to look no further than Iowa to
prove those arguments false.
“It’s been done, and that hasn’t
happened,” Wesely said. “We can
raise the minimum wage, and in so
doing, not harm small businesses.”
Gronstahl agreed and said the
negative economic impact the raise
had had on the state had been
“barely a blip on the economic
scope.”
The increase would only affect
those businesses across the state
with four or more employees —
about half, Wesely said.
Opponents of the bill were
heavily outnumbered Monday af
temoon, but their testimony pro
vided much of the day’s heated de
bate.
Ronald Lockard testified against
the bill on behalf of the Nebraska
Chamber of Commerce and Indus
try.
Lockard told the committee the
minimum wage was set by indi
viduals considering each particular
job and that entry-level positions
were paid entry-level wages.
And, Lockard said, “We do not
force people to work at all.”
“People aren’t dumb and stu
pid,” he said. “They can make their
own decisions.”
Lockard, president of Technical
Management Inc. of Lincoln, de
bated with Sen. Ernie Chambers for
some time.
He told Chambers that as presi
dent he did not pay his employees
$30 an hour because he was a nice
guy.
“I’m not doing it out of the
goodness of my heart,” he said.
“Because in my business, it’s
necessary to pay that person the
wage to do that job.”
Chambers did not argue that
with Lockard, but he said he be
lieved businesses had developed a
social conscience.
“If they could get someone to
work for a nickel, they would,”
Chambers said.
Mark Lutz of the Nebraska Res
taurant Association, said an in
crease would be detrimental to the
Scott Bruhn/DN
John Krejci of Lincoln talks to Sen. Don Wesely after a
discussion on LB1042 Monday afternoon, the bill
proposes raising the state’s minimum wage to $5.15 per
hour.
restaurant industry.
LB 1042 would cost Nebraska
restaurants $23 million in additional
wages, he said.
An increase wouldn’t affect just
those getting minimum wage, Lutz
said.
“This bill will go beyond just
raising minimum wage. It will force
up other hourly wages as well.”
Richard Lutz, executive vice
president of the restaurant associa
tion, said that the current $4.25
minimum wage was an excellent
starting wage.
“We feel we have to go by the
market,” he said. “The minimum
wage has been used as a starting
wage.
“You’ve got to start someplace ”
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