Eight States Rang in the New Year by Raising Minimum Wage ... Now it's New Jersey's Turn

by: njppwhiten

Wed Jan 04, 2012 at 02:26:35 PM EST

promoted by Rosi
cross-posted at NJPP.org

On January 1, the minimum wage increased in eight states, modestly boosting the incomes of more than 1.4 million low-wage workers in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. These states are part of a growing group that realizes the federal minimum wage of $7.25 is not enough to provide a decent living for working families - a group that still does not include New Jersey.

njppwhiten :: Eight States Rang in the New Year by Raising Minimum Wage ... Now it's New Jersey's Turn

Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have minimum wage rates above the federal level of $7.25 per hour, which is just over $15,000 per year for a full-time minimum wage earner, according to the National Employment Law Project. Ten states also increase their rates annually to ensure that real wages for the lowest-paid workers do not fall even further behind (the federal rate is not tied to any growth factor or inflation).

Despite a very high cost of living, as well as rising housing prices and transportation costs, New Jersey's lowest paid workers have not seen any significant wage increases in recent years. This reverses earlier trends in the state, when it was ahead of the curve on wages. As NJPP president Deborah Howlett noted in a blog post on this topic last year, working families in New Jersey have been on a "minimum wage roller-coaster" in recent years:

In 1992, New Jersey was a national leader with a state minimum wage of $5.05, but it languished until 2005, when lawmakers raised it from $5.15 to $7.15, once again ahead of the federal minimum wage. In the five years since, however, the federal standard has again caught up to the state's minimum wage.
It's time to get working and poor families off the minimum wage roller-coaster. The Governor and the Legislature should work to establish a minimum wage that reflects both the true cost of living in this state, and has an annual cost-of-living adjustment that keeps it there.

The Star-Ledger seems to think 2012 could be the year for a minimum wage increase, using a Wednesday editorial to push legislative Democrats to "draw a line" and fight for the change:

These are tough times for almost everyone, but working families who are playing by the rules in New Jersey deserve a better shake.

But an increase in the minimum wage would do more than give working families "a better shake," as the Ledger puts it. It would also help ignite New Jersey's sluggish economy by putting money into the pockets of workers, who have little choice but to spend that money immediately on goods and services.