By Val Poiset
The older we get the more expensive we become. Money for a car here, money for prom here, and money for clothes here pile up all throughout the school year. Parents typically opt to pay for the basics like food, the house and other essentials, but for a lot of the other needs, they are handed down to us. The good news is that City Council President Todd Gloria proposed a ballot initiative Wednesday that, if approved by voters, would increase San Diego’s minimum wage to $13.09 per hour over the next three years.
Gloria said he spent the past three months talking to stakeholders on all sides of the issue and looking at studies on the subject. He said details of the proposal could change, pending City Council discussions. This proposal for a rise in minimum wage would positively impact all those students who work for their money and others who have goals of saving money for big purchases such as a car or college. Gloria said nearly everyone acknowledges the current minimum wage, set by the state at $8 per hour, is too low. At this rate, not enough people in the San Diego County can rely on the “stability” that 8.00 dollars an hour can provide. At eight dollars and hour make it nearly impossible to survive with the expenses of the San Diego area. Around 300,000 households in the region have incomes too low to meet basic expenses, according to the study by the KPBS City News Service.
The increase in minimum wage would increase the stability of an entry-level job and help students looking to reach their hefty and expensive goals. About 200,000 San Diegans earn the minimum wage, largely in service-sector jobs that don’t require a degree: janitors, service-side hotel workers, part-time summer jobs. Most waiters and waitresses also earn the minimum wage, with their income supplemented by tips. Although the substantial increase in wage would have a positive effect on those earning it, it takes a huge toll on businesses looking to maintain solid profit margins. An increase of nearly 75% in minimum wage would negatively affect small and local businesses looking to expand. If margins of businesses are to remain the same with this hike in minimum wage, then the prices of goods services will increase significantly over the next three years as minimum wage increases are implemented into the economy. The Economic Policy Institute recently estimated that incrementally raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 would create 85,000 jobs and increase the nation’s gross domestic product by $22 billion, according to the Union Tribune’s study on the minimum wage hike. More than 80 percent of minimum-wage earners are at least 20 years old and rely on these low-income jobs to support their families, according to one estimate. But, as the rate of teens working here in San Diego increases, will the minimum wage increase limit the number of businesses hiring teens? This increase of minimum wage is something to look for in the upcoming years in San Diego.