Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501270030
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CROWDER AND JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
While many people may criticize a higher minimum wage, Mary Nicholas is sold on the idea.
Nicholas, a clerk at the Uni-Mart on Brandon Avenue in Roanoke, is divorced and supports herself on that job and a waitressing job.
``I could slow down a bit [if the minimum wage was raised], work less hours a week,'' Nicholas said. ``My second job is almost a full-time job, too.''
Nicholas works about 60 hours a week at Uni-Mart and about 25 hours a week waitressing. She said her spending habits wouldn't change, because ``I'd still have to pay the bills.
``I'd like to see them raise it up a little bit; we all need that.''
Employers were not so quick to praise Clinton's proposal.
``Shoppers will probably have to pay more because prices will go up,'' said Debra Gill, manager of Fashion Bug clothing store in Tanglewood. ``People will work less hours because the company won't be able to afford to pay them.''
In his State of the Union address Tuesday, Clinton said that ``in terms of buying power, by next year [the] minimum wage will be at a 40-year low.''
The real minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, has fallen by nearly 50 cents since 1991, and is 27 percent lower than it was in 1979, according to Department of Labor statistics. The real minimum wage has been in an almost-steady decline since it reached its peak in 1968.
Jobs that pay the government-identified minimum wage are scarce in the Roanoke area, according to Marjorie Skidmore, job service manager for the Virginia Employment Commission's Roanoke office. The prevailing minimum is between $5 and $5.25.
``When employers list jobs at $4.25, we tell them it's going to be almost impossible [to fill them] with 3.4 percent unemployment,'' Skidmore said.
Robert Stauffer, an associate professor of economics at Roanoke College, is skeptical of Clinton's plan.
``[Clinton is] dictating from Washington what millions of small businesses should do in respect to wage policy, despite businesses operating under widely different conditions and in regions with different costs of living,'' Stauffer said.
Educational reform that would give people more job skills might be a better way to raise wages, he said.
``The cause of minimum wage is not mean, nasty employers trying to exploit their workers,'' Stauffer said. ``Suppose a person is functionally illiterate. What kind of job can they expect in today's economy?''
Stauffer said Clinton's motive in proposing the increase might have been political, and the increase will be difficult to pass.
``It almost seems obvious to me that the Republican Congress is going to turn this down,'' Stauffer said.
``Anything that makes the Republican Congress look bad is going to help his [Clinton's] approval rating. He'll come off looking well-intentioned and compassionate.''
As a rule, increases in the minimum wage have little effect in big cities, because relatively few workers there earn the minimum. Rural employers tend to pay a greater percentage of their employees the minimum wage and see operating costs rise when the wage increases, said Nicolaus Tideman, professor of economics at Virginia Tech.
by CNB