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:	post by BobNOMAAMRooney at 2007-01-10 17:13:54

Baltimore raised their city contracted jobs to a "living wage" back in 1994. There were a few studies done on it and the conclusion reached was that while costs for the businesses with city contracts rose by something like 1% between 1994 and 1996 accounting for inflation they actually saved money on the living wage.

Baltimore's Living Wage Law: An Analysis of the Fiscal and Economic Costs of Baltimore City Ordinance 442

The Effects if Living Wage in Baltimore Feb. 1999

The idea that if we pay workers higher wages companies will flee for cheaper wages overseas is a complete myth. Outsourcing has pretty much gutted the manufacturing industry in this country, same goes for call centers, the only jobs left paying minimum wage are in the service sector. There isn't a ten year old Cambodian fry cook who's willing to use astral projection to work the grill at your local Wendy's at low low wages, either these jobs cannot be outsourced forcing employers to pay a living wage, or they can just automate the whole process (see, EZ Pass, Self Checkout lanes at Stop n' Shop). But think about it this way as well, if someone is supporting a family by working at McDonalds or some other minimum wage hole it's more than likely that they're not working there alone. Everyone knows at least one person who works two or three jobs to support their family, now if they could support their family on one paycheck that means a position frees up at the other one or two jobs.

Basically my support for a living wage comes down to this.

It would reduce the strain on the government's resources, reducing its size, and place responsibility on businesses. If people were paid a "living wage" there would be little need for programs such as welfare, medicaid, etc. as the entire workforce would be above poverty level; only low income seniors and the disabled would require assistance. Because fewer people would be enrolled in these programs and with the added revenue from people making a living wage (who would no longer have tax exempt status due to poverty) we would be faced with a choice, we could maintain the present tax rates and have a ridiculous surplus of money, or we could slash taxes across the board and still have enough money to fund programs for the much smaller group of people now dependent on the government.

And all the businesses playing poormouth over this whole issue have got to be fucking kidding. A living wage means that people who are currently barely scraping by will have disposable income. And where does disposable income go? Back into the economy!

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