Tim McFeeley is executive director of the Center for Policy Alternatives.
As Congress stands on the sidelines, minimum wage legislation is racing across the states.
Last week, Minnesota became the seventh state in two years to increase the minimum wage, and three other states—Hawaii, Maryland and Wisconsin—are poised to continue this trend in the coming weeks.
In fact, a higher minimum wage is becoming standard policy across the United States. Sixteen states now set a minimum wage greater than the federal level of $5.15 per hour. By this fall, at least 43 percent of Americans will live in jurisdictions with a minimum wage of $6 or more.
This is a terrific political opportunity for progressives. National polls show that 70 to 80 percent of Americans favor raising the minimum wage, representing an overwhelming mandate for change. But conservatives just don’t get it.
In March, the U.S. Senate rejected a minimum wage increase by a vote of 49 to 46. All Democrats voted yes; all but four Republicans voted no.
Nevertheless, in addition to Minnesota, legislatures in Hawaii, Maryland and New Jersey have passed legislation increasing minimum wages so far this year. Legislatures in New York, Rhode Island and Maine, as well as the City Council in the District of Columbia, increased their minimum wages in 2004.
Most significant of all, voters strongly support a higher minimum wage—even in “red” states. On November 2, 2004, the same day that Florida and Nevada voted for Bush over Kerry, both of these states overwhelmingly approved constitutional amendments to increase the minimum wage to $6.15, with automatic cost-of-living increases. A full 71 percent favored the increase in Florida; 68 percent voted yes in Nevada.
Progressives should tip their hats to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, ACORN and organized labor for pushing the issue onto the 2004 ballot. Look for the same groups to run minimum wage initiatives in a number of states next year. Increasing the minimum wage isn't just good policy—it also gets more progressives out to vote.
It’s not hard to understand why Americans favor a higher minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is not adjusted for inflation, and it has not been increased since 1997. If it had kept pace with the federal Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) since 1997, the minimum wage would be almost exactly $6.15 per hour today, the level adopted by many states. Sadly, an individual working full time at the federal level of $5.15 per hour earns only about $10,700 per year—$2,130 below the 2005 poverty line for a family of two, and $5,390 below the poverty line for a family of three. It’s just not enough.
While minimum wage increases may be the most dramatic series of progressive victories this year, it is by no means the only good news from the states.
For example, this year Connecticut became the second state to approve civil unions for same-sex couples. New Jersey became the third state to legalize same-sex domestic partnerships, the seventh state to require hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape victims, and the third state to set energy efficiency standards for common electrical products. Washington enacted the nation’s first environmental building standards for all new public buildings.
New Mexico became the fifth state to require electronic recording of police interrogations, and it is the ninth state to guarantee in-state tuition to undocumented immigrant students. Illinois enacted a law providing unemployment insurance to workers locked out of their jobs because of a labor dispute, and both Illinois and Maine approved laws prohibiting discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
While this trend appears to conflict with the national mood, it is actually consistent with the results of the 2004 election in which voters favored Republicans at the federal level but preferred Democrats in the states. Before November, Republicans controlled both houses of 21 legislatures, Democrats controlled 17, and 11 were split between the parties. Now Republicans and Democrats each control 20 legislatures, and nine are split. (Nebraska’s unicameral legislature is nonpartisan.)
Quite simply, our national and state governments are moving in opposite directions. By fulfilling their role as “laboratories of democracy,” states are proving that progressive policies are both feasible and popular, offering powerful ammunition for future national political battles.
For progressives, hope is in the states.
