Wages Indexed to Inflation
Many have focused on the amount and manner by which legislators passed a bill last week to raise their pay for the first time since 1991. Less has been said noting that the bill has indexed legislators’ pay to inflation using the Consumer Price Index.
Smart move on their part in that they avoid controversy over future public votes and yet still allow their incomes to rise with inflation.
If they are willing to give their part-time jobs a 62% pay increase to $49,000 a year and then index it to inflation, are they willing to do it for those who make the least?
Minimum wage in Alabama has been at the federal minimum of $5.15 an hour since 1997. Due to inaction on the federal level, many states have enacted their own legislation to raise pay for minimum wage workers. (Alabama is one of five states with no minimum wage law.) What would a 62% increase mean to the lives of minimum wage workers here in Alabama? A 33% increase?
While many states have passed laws to help minimum wage workers receive pay above the federal minimum, oddly enough state Rep. Jack Williams (R - Birmingham) with others has introduced HB 322 that would prohibit the legislature and local governments from adopting a minimum wage above the federal minimum. One analyst believes a bill like this may be unique in the country.
If the legislature is willing to raise its own wages and index them to inflation, should it be willing to raise the pay of those making the least - and index those wages to inflation?
Yes, but they don’t mention the comparison in pay to other legislators. If anything, their pay increase in 1991 was excessive and is just starting to even out. If the do in fact need an increase, I don’t think they need that big of an increase. Perhaps better management of the time they spend in session would reign in on their expenses. For example, while you may not be in session all year, the sessions could be made smaller if legislators would actually WORK for 8-hour days/5-day weeks. You’d accomplish the same amount of work you’d accomplish in 4 10-hour weeks, and you only have to pay for one week of hotel costs instead of four.
Great point about minimum wage, too! (I figure I should mention it since it seems to be the main focus of the post..) I’m very interested in seeing what happens with HB 322.
Comment by Alabama Moderate — March 15, 2007 @ 10:00 am
Good comments, A.M.
I think the point can be made that the legislature is doing what they can to make sure that they are being paid more than most of their counterparts in other states and that minimum wage workers are being paid less than their counterparts in other states.
Which is not really a record to be proud of.
Comment by Danny — March 15, 2007 @ 12:31 pm
I’d rather see a full-time legislature with full-time salary (with no two-year college ‘jobs’, no lobbyist favors, and no voice votes for raises); not indexed to anything (well, maybe indexed to state average wage rates - not ‘arbitrary’ or legislated minimum wage rates).
I don’t support minimum wage laws; I also think that illegal immigration depresses wages.
Comment by Reactionary — March 16, 2007 @ 3:42 pm