Spin on California Minimum Wage Compromise Will Be Interesting This Morning

Second, it is not indexed, so it will degrade again in future years unless there is an increase, In other words, there is really not a floor here that is stable to walk upon. It may very well become another political football, and if it does, the working poor will suffer until another bill is passed. As the old saying goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Third, polls and surveys show that Californians support an even greater increase in the minimum wage. This was not a great act of political courage for Arnold Schwarzenegger to support this increase. It was driven by the polls and political imperatives. That is why, when faced with a legislature that was willing to do battle with him and fight for the principles involved, he desperately wanted to get a deal or some other way of getting this off the table. A survey taken by respected pollster David Binder in 2005 showed 73% of California voters approved a rate then of $7.57 per hour with indexing. This included 80% of Democrats, 76% of independents, and 62% of Republicans. By a margin of 63-28% these voters approved $8.75 per hour with indexing. These are no small numbers.

Schwarzenegger tried an end run around the legislature to reconstitute the moribund Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC), which had failed during his years as Governor to take action, as required by law (Labor Code 1178 again, but also Article XIV, Section 1 of the California Constitution). In his letter to them to take action, he stated that the minimum wage was insufficient, but they were not able to agree upon an amount on their own. He had no choice other than to negotiate with the legislature, and the leaders of both houses held out for the best deal they could get. If we get a Democratic governor elected, we will be able to get indexing next year signed into law.

A final cautionary note. Many other states have raised their minimum wages this year or in recent years. Despite descriptions in press accounts that today’s deal makes us the “highest paying state” in the nation, this is not factually true. Washington state already has a rate of $7.63 per hour that is indexed. Assuming normal inflation, it will be well over $8 per hour in 2008. Oregon is already at $7.50 per hour, Connecticut at $7.40 per hour and so forth and so on. In Massachusetts, the legislature overrode the veto of their Republican Governor, Mitt Romney, and passed an increase from $6.75 per hour to $7.50 and then $8 per hour in 2008.

Making people wait for money they need to live on is not a proud record to run on. Republican legislators who have opposed previous bills and will vote against this one, and our Governor, who has vetoed two bills, should not let their chests puff out too much on this one. It is how the poor and the weak are treated by a society that it should be measured by, at least in my book.

If Schwarzenegger's campaign theme is "Protecting the California Dream," at least he ought to be able to go "backwards" to the standard in 1968 when Pat Brown handed the reins of government over to Ronald Reagan.