WASHINGTON -- Increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would mean nearly 88,600 Ohioans would no longer rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to a study unveiled Wednesday.
The study by the progressive advocacy group Center for American Progress, which U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown helped roll out yesterday, showed that increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would lower government spending on SNAP by $46 billion over the next 10 years. Raising the minimum wage would also reduce SNAP enrollments by 3.3 million to 3.8 million people nationwide.
In Ohio, more than one million workers would receive a raise and more than $2.1 billion would circulate through the state's economy, the study found. The parent of nearly one in every four Ohio children would get a raise and some 5,800 new Ohio jobs would be created, according to the report. Among those who would be affected most, 56% of affected workers are women, 86% are older than 20, 82% work more than 20 hours per week, and 47% work full time.
Opponents of social insurance and increasing the minimum wage “can’t have it both ways,” Brown, D-Ohio, argued.
“If they’re really concerned about rewarding hard work, they should ensure that it is rewarded with a fair wage. Every day, millions of Americans work hard, take responsibility, but are barely getting by,” Brown said. “At the same time that they struggle to put food on the table for their families, there is an orchestrated attempt to cut SNAP and other safety net programs. Opponents wrongly argue that these programs foster a culture of dependency and don’t reward work. If we raise the minimum wage, we can ensure that more Americans earn a living wage, reduce federal spending, and boost the economy.”
Brown cosponsored the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage in three steps of 95 cents to $10.10 an hour from its current $7.25, then provide for automatic annual increases linked to changes in the cost of living. The bill would also gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers -- which currently stands at just $2.13 an hour -- for the first time in more than 20 years, to 70% of the regular minimum wage.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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