Measure JJ fair way of helping workers
Mike Hansen recently attacked the Santa Monica living wage in these pages (Viewpoint, Oct. 29). But having watched this issue closely for more than three years, I am confident that Measure JJ is a fair way to lift thousands of workers out of poverty, relieve taxpayers of a welfare burden, and maintain Santa Monica’s prosperity.
The living wage is a grassroots movement that has succeeded in more than 80 localities across the nation in addressing the problem of poverty, which government too often prefers to ignore. Behind the walls of UCLA, it is easy to forget that many people earning low wages must work more than one job to make ends meet.
It is also hard to imagine that in the lucrative tourism industry in prosperous Santa Monica, many low-wage workers must choose between rent and medical care. But these facts are at the heart of Measure JJ, which offers a practical solution to a pressing problem.
Measure JJ will raise the minimum wage to $10.50 per hour (plus health benefits) in enterprises that can afford to absorb the increase, located within a carefully defined coastal district. By raising wages to this level, the demand for millions of dollars in taxpayer-financed anti-poverty subsidies will be significantly reduced.
There’s a real human need for Measure JJ. More than 75 percent of low-wage workers in the affluent “city by the sea” fall below the California Budget Project’s Basic Needs threshold, which establishes a modest standard of living for such essentials as rent, food, and childcare. That is why so many of these hard-working women and men hold down multiple jobs and are forced to forgo medical insurance.
Before enacting the living wage law, the Santa Monica City Council commissioned an evaluation of the impact of the proposal on the local economy. The study, conducted by Professor Robert Pollin of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is the only report based on such data as confidential business tax revenue information and interviews with low-wage workers.
Pollin found that the majority of workers affected by the living wage law are poor or near poor and affected hotels can readily afford to pay them a living wage. His work was peer-reviewed by Professor Richard Freeman of Harvard University and the London School of Economics, a leading labor economist, who affirmed Pollin's conclusions, calling the study as “a fine piece of applied economic analysis” and “a well-done empirical investigation.”
If that’s not enough, 120 economists from major universities across the country have now endorsed both Pollin’s research and Measure JJ. “As economists,” they wrote, “we believe that living wage legislation is an important tool for improving the living standards of working Americans.” “We note that the study by Professor Pollin and colleagues offers strong evidence of the law’s overall merits.”
Living wages don’t threaten or hurt workers. That argument was used when the minimum wage was introduced years ago. It was a scare-tactic then and it’s just as wrong today. Professor Pollin estimated that job loss would be minimal and gains for workers would reduce poverty.
There’s an old saying that power never gives up anything without a fight. The powerful and wealthy business interests in Santa Monica and outside do not want to give up a penny of their profits. But the truth – and a more just society – are worth fighting for. So review the facts and vote yes on Measure JJ.
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