Danielle Jung

Its Only Common Cents: Seattles Minimum Wage

Contradiction is rife in Seattle. It lurks at street corners where a new
Audi showroom stands within a short walk of low-income housing units and
homeless shelters. It strolls in my neighborhood where local mom-and-pop
businesses and iconic gay bars are losing their leases to luxury apartments
and crossfit studios. Unless youve been living under a rock, chances are
youve heard of Seattle swirling in a hot mess of buzzwords like gentrification
and income inequality crises. To put it all simply, those who have long worked
in Seattle are now struggling to afford living in it. Even with recent booms in
the Seattle economy, not everyone is better off for it. While corporations like
Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks are building empires in our streets, the
number of folks losing their homes is skyrocketing. With wealth distributed to
fewer and fewer hands, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening
rapidly.
Income inequality has been running rampant in our city, threatening
residents homes, security, communities, and health. Those in poverty are
limited in life opportunities and access to healthy conditions. Continuing on
the path of tolerating income inequities poses a grave threat to creating
healthy, sustainable, and safe communities for all. Thankfully for the everyday
Seattlite, the City Council was among the first in the country to pass a
minimum wage of $15. This pioneering policy recognized a humble truth:
when living costs increase, so should wages. People need enough to survive,
and they shouldnt work full-time only to lose their home and community. If

there is any real, primary function of a government, it has to be this.

Demanding a living wage for hardworking citizens is honestly a no-brainer.
Despite how essential this policy is for our fellow neighbors, others are
quick to refuse the mere prospect of a wage hike. During the Republican
presidential debate in November, all three candidates that addressed
minimum wage swiftly rejected any raise in wages. Ben Carson contended
that it would create unemployment, while Marco Rubio likened a higher
minimum wage to receiving unearned benefits. Donald Trump even went as
far as to assert that our current federal minimum wage was too high. Other
stakeholders, such as business owners and economists, have also opposed
the $15 minimum wage. Many fear the unintended consequences and believe
that a higher minimum wage merely targets teen jobs.
It is true that a new minimum wage will have unintended consequences,
as with any policy or course of action. However, these risks should pale in
comparison to the known, well-documented consequences of not taking action
for the hardworking Seattlites that still earn poverty-level wages. There is real
danger in not raising the minimum wagereflected in our currently unstable,
imbalanced economy and in the morally intolerable conditions for some of our
most disadvantaged groups. Furthermore, some of these unintended
consequences may in fact be positive or beneficial. Studies show that
businesses may benefit with lower turnover and better worker satisfaction and
productivity. In fact, SeaTac recently implemented the $15 wage hike, and
found that unemployment dropped about 18% in the area. Contrary to

common perception, civilian workers who benefit from wage policy are on
average 29 years old.
When workers earn a living wage, they are better consumers, more
engaged civic participants, and more attentive neighbors. This new policy is
an unprecedented opportunity to build a safer, healthier, more sustainable
Seattle. But we must step up and speak up. We must demand that our city is a
true community that actively works to take care of its residents. When
opponents seek to tear down our progress, we must ardently showcase our
support for a living wage and make a stand for economic and social justice.
Together, lets recognize that were all better off when everyone is better off.
Seattlites, this is our hour.