Dr. Coburn Votes to Protect Salaries of Low-Income Families from Flawed Wage Bill
February 1, 2007
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today regarding his vote against, H.R. 2, the Minimum Wage Act:
“This bill is unfair to workers and, in many cases, it will be harmful to the very people it is supposedly designed to help. Most workers will experience a minimum-wage penalty rather than a minimum-wage benefit because of this bill. This bill has far more to do with increasing the political capital of politicians in Washington than increasing real wages of low-income families,” Dr. Coburn said.
In Oklahoma, low-wage workers are eligible for up to $25,726 in assistance in areas such as child care, housing assistance and food stamps. Under the minimum wage increase approved by Congress, these low-wage workers would find themselves eligible for benefits worth $4,600 less than they would under the current minimum wage. Yet, their newly increased wage would only provide an increase of $4,368 per year, resulting in a net income loss of $232 per year.
“Minimum wage was never intended to be the sole income of a family and numerous studies show that few minimum wage earners are the sole income earners in their household,” Dr. Coburn said, noting that since 1998, the number of workers earning minimum wage has precipitously declined from more than 4 million to less than 1.9 million and that 85 percent of low-wage workers are teens living at home with their parents, adults living alone or dual-earner married couples.
Moreover, 29 states and the District of Columbia already have a minimum wage higher than the federal standard and another 14 states are considering proposals to increase their minimum wage above the federal level.
“Free markets, and the American ideals of entrepreneurship and hard work, are far better equipped at setting and raising wages than politicians in Washington. Yet, when government decides to step in, it should be at the state and local level. States across America are already addressing this issue. American families deserve an economy in which they can prosper, not more counterfeit compassion from Washington,” Dr. Coburn said.
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