By Ilana Williams
University of Maryland students and faculty agree the minimum wage should be raised but differ on how much.
Following the change in administration, there has been increasing debate about changing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. The minimum wage was last increased by 70 cents in 2009.
UMD students had strong reactions tied to this economic policy, including senior government and politics major Arianna Delgado.
“I think the time is now that we really need to hold ourselves accountable and be fiscally responsible,” said Delgado, who is the president of College Republicans at UMD.
Delgado said she wants more money to be allocated to COVID-19 programs with greater oversight.
“Ten dollars to $11 is more reasonable because of the cost of living,” Delgado said. “In some areas, you don’t need [$15 an hour].”
One of the big concerns economists have when dealing with minimum wage is the employment rate. If the wage started at $10 then steadily increased, it might give employers time to adjust.
“In an area like this, the D.C. metro area, relative wages are relatively high,” said Katharine Abraham, an economics and methodology professor. “If you push the minimum wage up to $15 an hour, it probably wouldn’t have much effect on employment.”
However, if the minimum wage were raised to $15 in rural states there would be concerns about employment because the cost of living is lower, Abraham said.
Abraham would prefer to have a minimum wage that would agree with the local wage levels or low cost of living.
The Senate parliamentarian, who reviews the Senate’s rules and precedents, said raising the minimum wage would go against the rules of reconciliation, and it would not fit in the COVID-19 stimulus bill.
If President Joe Biden were really concerned, he could help pass the minimum wage by using his bully pulpit powers, said Andrew Ferguson, a junior information science major.
“I don’t think he believes in it,” Ferguson said. “I think he was never really a strong supporter of the $15 minimum wage. I think it was a concession he made to the progressive wing of the party.”
Ferguson believes the minimum wage must increase.
“It’s been far too long since the minimum wage was increased,” Ferguson said. “If you look at productivity and purchasing power, minimum wage isn’t kept up with those metrics. I think the floor should really be at $15 as a negotiation point.”
Ferguson views the Biden administration as the best opportunity to raise the minimum wage. He pledged to take action.
“We should keep fighting and make sure Joe Biden listens to us and gets what [needs to be] done at some point during his term,” Ferguson said.
Featured image: Senators debated allowing a minimum wage hike in Biden’s COVID-19 stimulus bill, but the proposal was ultimately dropped. Photo courtesy of Mary McCarthy.