Opinion

Minimum-wage hike maybe not such a bad idea

A few weeks back I criticized the idea of increasing the minimum wage by 50 percent. It seemed everyone criticized the increase, even Gov. Doyle and the Wisconsin State Journal. The thought was that such a drastic increase in the minimum wage would be bad for the city. However, my assessment of this increase was not well thought out; there could potentially be several benefits to increasing the minimum wage to $7.75 per hour.

First, a drastic minimum wage increase would possibly put some small businesses under. This sounds awful, but is it really?

On State Street we have the Radical Rye, a sandwich shop owned by Karl Armstrong, a convicted arsonist and murderer. State Street is also the home of two Espresso Royales, a coffee shop that two years ago was displaying anti-Israeli drawings of dead Palestinians that were, according to the 2002 Palestinian Right to Return Coalition chair Sarah Kaisow, supposedly brought to Madison “to present a reality and narrative that is silenced within U.S. media and culture.” Yes, neither now, nor in 2002, does the “U.S. media” ever report on the terrorism or violence in the Middle East — sure.

Would I be upset if these businesses went out of business? Hardly. Starbucks’ hot chocolate is better anyway, and with the additional space we could maybe get another Starbucks and a new chain restaurant or two.

If you look at what food is affordable to students on State Street you find it in Yum! Brands, Inc. restaurants: Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. Nowhere on State Street do you see a KFC. Everyone knows “they do chicken right.” Bringing a KFC to campus could help revitalize the fledgling protest atmosphere around campus. Organizations like the Greens, MEChA and PETA could coalition and hold a joint protest, first protesting Taco Bell’s tomatoes and then KFC’s chickens.

While the possibility of removing Radical Rye or Espresso Royale may be reason enough to rethink the minimum-wage increase, another reason also exists.

To the surprise of many, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has also come out with a plan to increase the minimum wage to $7.75 per hour. However, according to at least one City Council member, Mayor Cieslewicz is adamantly opposed to having a referendum on this issue. The mayor likely realizes such a referendum would fail miserably, and he would rather take a chunk of democracy out of the process and force it through City Council — where such a drastic and far-reaching policy change would require the support of only 11 of the 20 council members.

Such a bold move, particularly when this has never been a citywide campaign issue, would rightfully infuriate average citizens and small-business owners alike. This anger would likely linger and bring people to the polls to remove those council members who supported the massive wage hike and make Mayor Dave a one-term wonder.

Anytime voter turnout is substantially increased, it is a win for democracy. California last week demonstrated the type of revolution that can occur in a liberal-leaning state when politicians pass awful policies that damage the local economy. That could occur in this city, where the surge in voters would be moderate voters; knocking down the increasing strength Progressive Dane is gaining in city politics.

The minimum-wage increase would still have many negative effects, such as job loss and higher prices for goods, but seeing the Greens, MEChA and PETA join hands in protesting affordable student dining may be worth a few jobs.

Matt Modell (mmodell@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in journalism and political science.