I disagree with Colin McNickle’s op-ed “The lose-lose situation of a $15 Pa. minimum wage” (June 30, TribLIVE), which begins with “the Law of Unintended Consequences” — implying that unknown bad things will happen. But we know the consequences of raising the minimum wage from the myriad of recent examples. It will raise millions of low-paid workers out of poverty and, at the same time, stimulate the economy, which adds jobs. Low-paid workers tend to spend their pay. They do not bank it like the rich.
McNickle states that Pennsylvania does not need an increase in minimum wage because our cost of living is low. But, in 2019, the reported living wage for a family of four in Pittsburgh was $36.69 an hour (see livingwage.mit.edu). The median income in Pittsburgh in 2020 was $14 an hour (according to Google). If both parents work at the median wage, they still make less than a living wage.
The official minimum wage in Pennsylvania is $7.25 an hour, which has not increased since 2009. Meanwhile, members of the General Assembly in only two years have increased their wage by 14%, to a salary of over six figures. I imagine they believe their salaries should keep up with inflation even if they have only been on the job for a year or two.
Gloria Gralewski
Manor