Rep. Jim Viebrock (#134) is undecided about how he'll vote on a Missouri ballot initiative designed to raise the state minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.50 an hour.
"That one I'm on the fence about. You can put me down as undecided," Viebrock said.
But in a recent interview, Viebrock seemed to express deep reservations about a pay hike and questioned how big of an impact the issue would have in Southwest Missouri.
"Most jobs here are above the minimum wage anyway," Viebrock said. "Waitressing might be the only job in southwest Missouri at the minimum wage. Even McDonald's pays $7 an hour."
Viebrock's Democratic opponent Christopher Brown, said that's just not true.
"As a supermarket manager, I work with a lot of people on minimum wage," said Brown, who supports the minimum wage hike. "Being a real estate agent, (Viebrock's) out of touch."
"Baggers, cashiers, there are jobs all over southwest Missouri that pay the minimum wage."
When I asked Brown about the impact on business, he said "it's a price of doing business." "There should be a cost of living increase each year."
Viebrock said a mandated wage increase would definitely impact businesses, but said he wasn't sure how much. "The bottom line is effected, so the economy will react. It could cause some small businesses to fold, and few here would be affected by the wage hike."
Libertarian candidate Keith Rodgers opposes the minimum wage hike for a different reason. Rodgers said he doesn't believe it is the job of the state or federal government to set wages.
"If the government is out to set a minimum wage, what's to stop them from setting a maximum?," Rodgers said. "Let the market decide."
"How many people that start out making $5.15 an hour are still making it 3 or 6 months later?," Rodgers questioned. "If you can't make more than the minimum wage after awhile, then you're not getting promoted. I don't think a lot of people make the minimum wage 365 days a year. You may start there, but then you work your way up."
Still, Rodgers predicted the minimum wage hike would probably pass in November. "Too many people think the government is a safety net, waiting to be there to help them," he said.
3 comments:
I have to agree with Keith Rogers. Why is this our government’s job? Let the market decide.
You people just don't get it. Raising the minimum wage is a payoff to unions and has nothing to do with the market or hamburger flippers. Most union contracts are tied to the minimum wage.
journeyer,
I agree - and would do the following if elected:
1. Propose legislation that would put Congressional pay raises to a vote of the people.
2. I won't accept a pay raise during my term; the amount of the raise would be donated to a reputable charity.
3. I would also submit a bill that would rescind lifetime pensions for former legislators.
***
citizenkan,
Nothing wrong with the Cato Institute. I'd trust their thinking any day. America would be a lot better off if we didn't view government as a "caretaker".
If we make government big enough, and powerful enough, to "give" us everything... we will have made it big enough to tell us HOW to live. Personally, I don't trust either Ted Kennedy OR Rick Santorum to run *my* life *for* me.
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