Nothing fair about it

I really appreciate the contribution that Charles Apple makes to the Spokesman - everywhere from the “Perfect” in the sports section to the “Fair Wage” effort in the Main section.

I started working as a sophomore at GPrep in 1955 when the minimum wage was 75 cents. By my senior year, the minimum wage was all the way up to $1.00. And then I got a union job at Wonder Bread bakery at $2.95 an hour. I could now could buy a house and a car and raise a family. This is what would be called a “fair wage.” The minimum wage was still $1.00 an hour. The minimum wage is not a fair wage.

The Spokesman also compared the wages of a worker in Moscow, Idaho, and Pullman, Washington. Doing the same work, the worker in Washington received the minimum wage of $13.69, while in Idaho it was the federal minimum or $7.25. The same difference would apply between Liberty Lake and Post Falls. A Big Mac costs the same in both places but in Idaho the franchise owner is pocketing the $6.44 that should go to the workers. The employer in Idaho also has an unfair competitive advantage.

A raise in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour would benefit both the employee and the employer. The “greed” market (it has never been “free”) cannot provide these benefits. The only fair solution is to raise the minimum wage that has remained at $7.25 since 2009.

Bob Johnston

Spokane