How much money are those jobs worth? Most of us would say more than you think. As such, good news may be on the horizon. At the State of the Union Address on Tuesday, I fully expect President Obama to speak on the subject of raising minimum wage. This could mean a lot for college students.
Some states raised minimum wage on January 1, 2014. According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, my home state raised minimum wage 10 cents to $7.95. Federal minimum wage, however is stagnant, currently sitting at $7.25. Though no graphics have been updated for 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor published the 2013 data for each state.
Obama is in favor of a dramatic increase. He recently said he supports legislation in Congress that would lift the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour in three steps over two years and then index it to inflation.
Even with Obama's backing, minimum wage increases have a long road ahead for full passage through Congress. Although it has been said higher minimum wages have mild support from both political parties, Democrats are driving the effort, as they are interested in remedying income inequality.
Republicans, on the other hand, have some concerns. Top Republicans assert that a wage increase would dampen the economic recovery. Some Republicans also say that after Obama mentioned the issue in his 2013 State of the Union speech, they had no intention of bringing a minimum wage increase to a vote in the House, which they control.
Numerous members of the legislature, most notably Speaker John A. Boehner, have also brought to attention that this would be discouraging to small businesses, which would be a consequence contradicting recent endorsement of small town entrepreneurs. Why would we make it harder for small employers, especially family owned and operated businesses, to prosper?
In a November CBS News poll, 64 percent of independents and 57 percent of Republicans said they supported increasing the minimum wage. 70 percent of self-described “moderates” said they supported an increase. This issue seems pretty important for a majority of Americans and even Obama himself. "Let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour," Obama said to Congress in 2013. "Let's tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that it finally becomes a wage you can live on."
Now speaking about minimum wage in Tuesday's State of the Union is a start, but no guarantee. According to the Constitution, a State of the Union address requires the president to "from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient” (Article II, Section 3, Clause 1). This means Obama will recommend topics that he feels are the most deserving of his time and effort in the upcoming year, but makes no promises. In our system of checks and balances, law passage is a complicated journey. Keep in mind that minimum wage was also on the agenda in last year's State of the Union, but it never materialized.
The conversation of a topic relevant to so many Americans also shows promise in persuading citizens to use their voice. Speaking about and acting upon minimum wage could serve as a tool with which to enlarge the voting population. Voter turnout lags especially in a nonpresidential election year, like 2014. FairVote.org claims about 60 percent of the voting eligible population in America votes during presidential election years and about 40 percent votes during midterm elections. Though many people have dogs in the race when it comes to minimum wage, youth and minorities are commonly affected. Voter participation may be multiplied in these categories.
So, will your barista job suddenly pay more after the State of the Union Address? Probably not, but it is something to consider. Listen to Obama speak on his initial plans for the year and turn out at the polls if it reaches that stage. Federal mandates to help the college student may be coming sooner than you think.
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