THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 21, 1996 TAG: 9608211046
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 48 lines
Now that President Clinton has signed a bill raising the minimum wage, the editor of an off-beat business magazine is urging low-paid workers not to ``squander away their newfound wealth.''
Daniel S. Levine, editor of Disgruntled magazine, offered some satirical advice about what a minimum-wage worker could do if he or she saved the 50-cent increase that will take effect October 1.
For instance, a minimum-wage worker who wanted to take a date to the movies, buy a large popcorn and two medium sodas, would have to save the 50-cent raise for 6.7 days, Levine calculated.
For a pricier item, the wait would be longer. A 1996 Ford Taurus with a 3.0 liter V-6 engine would take 18 years, 36 work weeks, 2.5 days.
``We're showing our readers with a little discipline and self-control, instead of squandering their money on things like bread and milk, they can save up for those big purchases,'' Levine said. ``The key is to plan ahead, avoid temptation and live long enough,'' he said.
The bill raises the minimum wage from $4.25 an hour to $4.75 an hour on Oct. 1, then boosts it another 40 cents to $5.15 an hour next year. It is the first increase in five years in the minimum wage, which is at an inflation-adjusted 40-year low.
Levine's calculations do not include the second 40-cent increase, and he ``ignored the tax implications of the new raise.''
Disgruntled is a World Wide Web magazine aimed at ``people who work for a living.''
Upon removing his tongue from his cheek, Levine says he worked up the spending guide as a way to question why it took so long and so much debate to give minimum-wage workers a 90-cent raise.
After all, Levine says in an earlier issue of Disgruntled, executive pay packages jumped 31.4 percent last year, compared to a 2.8 percent wage increase for the average worker.
To be fair, though, he admits that the executive pay calculations factor in stock options, and 1995 was an outstanding year for stocks.
To be doubly fair, he calculates that a minimum-wage worker who wanted to buy 100 shares of Netscape stock would have to save up the 50-cent raise for a while to get in on the stock bonanza - four years, 19 weeks, 2.5 days to be exact. MEMO: Disgruntled can be found on the World Wide Web at
http://www.disgruntled.com
KEYWORDS: MINIMUM WAGE by CNB