Iowa possibly raising minimum wage to $8.75 (Des Moines: pay scale, places, drain)

[tollfree]

The strong economy in Iowa is exaggerated...i.e. you don't have a high number of poor minorities living in the projects how you do in states with major cities, but it's not quite as good as they want you to think.

Even with the self-proclaimed best economy in the world, approximately, 70% of students in Des Moines Public Schools system qualify for free/reduced lunch. Not sure if linking is allowed, but this can easily be verified.

Obviously it's not the same situation in the suburbs - but this is true for every city in America.

[Qwerty]

Originally Posted by RonnieJonez

The strong economy in Iowa is exaggerated...i.e. you don't have a high number of poor minorities living in the projects how you do in states with major cities, but it's not quite as good as they want you to think.

Even with the self-proclaimed best economy in the world, approximately, 70% of students in Des Moines Public Schools system qualify for free/reduced lunch. Not sure if linking is allowed, but this can easily be verified.

Obviously it's not the same situation in the suburbs - but this is true for every city in America.

I agree. I think the economy overall is strong in Iowa. The unemployment rate is pretty low, however, most of the jobs out there are low skill jobs, assembly line, truck drivers, etc., especially when you move into the more rural areas. I don't know about the free/reduced lunch situation or the accuracy of that number but it goes back to my low pay scale argument. The figures for qualifying are set at the federal level and are not adjusted for the COL in an area. A family of 4 would qualify for reduced lunch on an income of $44,123 and a family of 5 at $55,634. Both of those are very generous salaries for Iowa and more than livable in many of the rural communities. Move into CR/IC or DM on that income, however, and life gets a little harder, but you can still manage a modest lifestyle probably. Those incomes in Iowa would not be considered "low-income" or "poor" by any means.

I'm really surprised at how little jobs that truly require a college degree pay here. COL is one thing but it is not THAT low, despite the links provided because those links do not take into consideration your location IN Iowa. It's less expensive to live in Des Moines than Ames, Mason City is less expensive then Cedar Rapids, etc.

Iowa could do a much better job attracting more skilled labor or white collar jobs by offering better pay. Iowa has kind of a bad reputation nationally, not really deserved but it is what it is, and one way to off-set that is to really become an affordable place to live. It really is not for the skilled laborer or white collar worked compared to comparable places in other states, even in the neighboring states.

[lurtsman]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

This thing won't even make it to Branstad's desk. The GOP pretty much runs the show at the statehouse, and they're going to make sure this matter doesn't get taken up for debate. Some of the Republican opponents to raising Iowa's minimum wage are saying the state needs to focus on bringing in decent-paying jobs instead. Yada yada yada. It's all smokescreen.

Basically, Iowa is going to become the Mexico/East Asia of the Midwest if they don't raise the minimum wage. But, in the land of Joni Ernst and Steve King, bumping up the rate seems rather unlikely. They can sure sign a gas tax hike into law right away, though.

I see these intelligent posts and am so happy to see intelligent people in the Iowa forum. Then I realize its another person that decided to leave Iowa.

I will be happy for Iowans if they manage to see an increase in the minimum wage. With the cost of living around Iowa City (rather than Des Moines), it would be nice to have a significant increase. I'll be surprised if this becomes law though.

[fezzador]

Iowa already suffers from enough of a "brain drain". I know a lot of college graduates are jockeying for salaried positions but not all of them will get salaried positions right away. Raising the minimum wage will at least somewhat level the playing field. It's not a poor state, but getting it to spend any money at all is like pulling teeth.

There's a definite divide between Eastern Iowa and Western Iowa. Eastern Iowa is certainly the more progressive side of the state, it's generally considered a more desirable place to live and thusly, a more expensive place to live (maybe not by a super-huge margin, but it's still noticeable). Western Iowa doesn't give a damn about Eastern Iowa, and even though it's been losing population for generations, still has a big voice in statewide politics and will fight tooth-and-nail to keep things as they are.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

China and Mexico agree with you 100%. That's why they refuse to give their workers a living wage. They want everyone in their respective countries to obtain a PhD, which is why their average worker makes 65 cents per hour.

Makes perfect sense to me. Why can't America be more like China and Mexico, where the lazy people working 14-hour days are made to suffer for their laziness?

Nice hyperbole.

If you don't get that there's a lot of space between paying someone 65 cents a day and bumping the starting wage for unskilled jobs to close to the same as an established wage for a skilled job I don't know what to tell you.

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by duster1979

If you don't get that there's a lot of space between paying someone 65 cents a day and bumping the starting wage for unskilled jobs to close to the same as an established wage for a skilled job I don't know what to tell you.

Skilled jobs are paying close to $8.75 per hour?

If you believe that, I don't know what to tell you.

[duster1979]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

Skilled jobs are paying close to $8.75 per hour?

If you believe that, I don't know what to tell you.

I didn't say that. I said that minimum wage shouldn't be bumped to close to what skilled workers make. I don't believe anything I said should have insinuated that $8.75 is a reasonable wage for a skilled position, but if I did I apologize for the confusion.

I do believe minimum wage should be increased. I don't know if $8.75 is a reasonable number or not. As I said before, it would make infinitely more sense to adjust the minimum wage annually based on the CPI or some other indicator rather than keeping it stagnant for years and then bumping it 15-20%.

But I know that bumping it to close to $15 an hour - about where established skilled positions start in this part of the country - will discourage people from working to acquire those skills. Why go to the time and expense of learning a trade when you can make the same money flipping burgers or stocking shelves?

[Qwerty]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

Skilled jobs are paying close to $8.75 per hour?

If you believe that, I don't know what to tell you.

A lot of the skilled jobs I've seen advertised have been in the $10-12/range so yes, $8.75/hour is close to that. Not to mention the white collar jobs that start around $15/hour or less sometimes...

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by Qwerty

A lot of the skilled jobs I've seen advertised have been in the $10-12/range so yes, $8.75/hour is close to that. Not to mention the white collar jobs that start around $15/hour or less sometimes...

Pizza delivery drivers make more than that. If $10-$12 is your definition of adequate hourly pay for skilled labor, so be it. Most people who expect a livable wage for possessing a college degree would not be able to pay off student loans and keep a roof over their heads making that kind of money.

[Qwerty]

Originally Posted by funksoulbro

Pizza delivery drivers make more than that. If $10-$12 is your definition of adequate hourly pay for skilled labor, so be it. Most people who expect a livable wage for possessing a college degree would not be able to pay off student loans and keep a roof over their heads making that kind of money.

No way is that enough..and I've said it several times, the pay scale in Iowa is very low. I was just commenting on jobs I've seen advertised and how little they pay.