The Kansas minimum wage has been stuck at $2.65 an hour for almost 20 years – forcing hard working Kansans to survive in today’s economy on yesterday’s dollars. In fact, Kansas is the only state with a minimum wage specifically set below the federal level.
Kansas’s minimum wage is so absurd that a worker who earns $2.65 an hour 40 hours a week, 52 weeks per year, earns just $5,512 per year – which is $11,658 below the 2007 federal poverty line for a single parent with two children.
Why is the Kansas minimum wage so low? Because politicians have refused to raise it, holding low-wage earners hostage for nearly two decades. Most recently, in February 2007, the Kansas legislature rejected a bill to raise the state minimum wage above $2.65 an hour.
The Kansas Department of Labor says that at least 27,000 Kansas workers now earn less than the federal minimum wage — that is, under $5.85 an hour.
Kansas Action Network, a broad-based coalition for workers’ rights, social justice and economic fairness, has lobbied at the state level to increase the Kansas minimum wage, so far without success. Since the Kansas legislature has resisted raising the minimum wage, it’s up to cities to do the right thing. That’s why KAN is pursuing a campaign to raise the wage floor on a city-by-city basis in Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City, Kansas. We are seeking support from individuals, groups, and elected officials to push for a minimum wage equal to the federal minimum that accounts for annual cost-of-living increases.
We are currently organizing working groups in each of the three cities to coordinate petition drives and other events to help build public awareness of the mutual benefits of a higher minimum wage – for workers, businesses and the overall economy.
Kansas Action Network initiated this campaign because its members believe that hard work deserves fair pay.
Q: What happens when the price of something goes up?
a) Since it costs more, people can afford to buy less of it
b) When the cost of something goes up, nothing happens
If you chose a), congratulations! You know why raising the minimum wage (the price of hiring a worker) causes fewer people to have jobs.
Thank you, Bryan for your question. Your question assumes that increasing the minimum wage will cause prices to go up, and that they will go up significantly. In fact, there is substantial evidence that suggests otherwise. This research looks at both the effects of the previous federal minimum wage increase of 1996-97, and the states that have raised their wages above the federal level. The research shows that increasing the minimum wage does not cause job loss (read the evidence yourself at http://www.raisethewagekansas.org/wichita/resources/).
Another way of answering your question is: if workers make more money, they will spend it BY NECESSITY on the basics: rent, food, utilities, childcare and transportation. This pumps more dollars into local economies. By NOT raising the minimum wage, these workers and their families will be increasingly dependent on social services paid for by your tax dollars, like housing subsidies, food stamps and Medicaid. Don’t you think it makes more sense to raise the wage? Don’t you think that workers deserve to be paid more than the Kansas minimum wage of $2.65 an hour? It has been at this level since 1988, during which time, the cost of living has inarguably gone up, no matter where you live. Finally, don’t you think an honest day’s work deserves fair pay?