|
originally published in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News October 14-15, 2006
By Judith L. Brown
Back in August, the Daily News one evening suddenly bore the headline “City adopts living wage.” In one fell swoop and without a lot of fanfare, Moscow became the first city in Idaho to enact a living wage standard for city employees and city contractors. Wow, I thought, what a great step forward.
Then in September, the annual update of the Northwest Job Gap study was released, including state-specific living wage calculations for Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. (The study is available online at www.nwfco.org.)
The question that popped into my mind was this: what is the relationship between the living wage adopted by Moscow city government and the living wage as calculated in the Northwest Job Gap study? Often, when a political entity adopts a living wage standard, the living wage it settles on has more to do with political considerations — the balance of power and the trade-offs negotiated between interest groups favoring better wages and those favoring lower wages — than with the actual cost of covering a family’s basic needs.
In contrast, job gap studies start with the definition of a living wage as a wage that allows a family to meet its basic needs without resorting to public assistance. (Note that this is a fairly minimalist definition of economic security.) The actual cost of procuring food, housing, health care and child care, and other basic needs is then carefully researched. Finally, living wage calculations for families of different sizes are compiled by adding up the individual cost components.
According to the Northwest Job Gap study, the current living wage in Idaho for a single adult is $10.41 an hour ($21,660 annually). For a single adult with one child, a living wage is $17.89 an hour ($37,220 annually). A couple, both of whom work outside the home, with two children, need to earn combined wages of $29.03 an hour ($60,380 annually).
Don’t jump to conclusions quite yet. These living wage calculations and Moscow’s $10.25 living wage standard are not directly comparable. Being the responsible employer that it is, the city of Moscow provides health and retirement benefits for city staff. The $10.25 living wage standard must be adjusted to include the value of these benefits. This quickly gets complicated for families of different sizes and compositions, but a phone call to Moscow Human Resources Director Leslie Moss enabled me to make the adjustment for a single adult and for a married employee with children. (My thanks to Ms. Moss for her assistance.)
For a single adult, an hourly wage of $10.25 an hour plus benefits is the equivalent of approximately $13.50 an hour. For a married employee insuring his or her spouse and children through Moscow’s health insurance plan, an hourly wage of $10.25 an hour plus benefits is the equivalent of approximately $15.70 an hour.
Now for the drum roll. The results please: how does Moscow’s living wage standard stack up against the Northwest Job Gap study’s living wages? Pretty darn well. For a single adult, Moscow’s living wage standard of $13.50 an hour is about 30 percent above the Northwest Job Gap study’s calculated living wage of $10.41. For a married employee with children, Moscow’s living wage standard of $15.70 is approximately half (54 percent) of the $29.03 living wage for a couple’s combined earnings.
The city of Moscow has established a family-friendly living wage standard, ensuring that all full-time employees attain a basic level of economic security. In a state where “the right to work” all too often means “the right to work for low pay,” I think this sets a great precedent in Idaho. Hopefully other cities, counties, school boards and universities will follow suit.
The preamble to Moscow’s living wage resolution justifies the living wage standard in part by noting that “ … City employees and persons contracting with the City are supported by tax dollars from the community which tax dollars should reflect the values of the community …. ”
This living wage resolution does reflect my values. It makes this citizen and taxpayer proud.
* Judith L. Brown is an economist and director of the Idaho Center on Budget and Tax Policy. She lives in Moscow with her family and can be reached at jlbrown@turbonet.com.
|