Editor’s note: This commentary is by Michelle Salvador of Worcester, a social worker who has worked in substance abuse prevention for 20 years, prior to which she worked in children’s mental health and adolescent substance abuse treatment. She is a member of the VSEA, and active in Vermont Labor United.
[I]’ve never professed to be above average intelligence. But it does not take a high IQ to know the impact that public policy has on health, both positive and negative. Laws impact the conditions that influence the health status of people. Public policy impacts our education, food access, quality health care, environment, housing and the issue that brings me to writing this piece: income.
The Legislature is currently looking at the issue of raising the minimum wage. The current minimum wage in Vermont is $10.50 an hour. The Legislature is currently grappling with whether or not to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. Yes, to raise it $4.15 an hour by 2024. In fact it is hard for me to choke down, that the number we are talking about will only reach $15 over the next six years. Right now, research has shown that an individual must make $21 an hour to afford a one bedroom apartment in Vermont. This makes it virtually impossible for families making minimum wage to survive without public assistance, even when working multiple jobs. I am aware of the many cruel myths that exist about individuals that need public assistance. In reality we are not creating real ways for people to begin to escape poverty through our public policies.
This is a complex issue and I am not going to pretend that it is not. While the Legislature grapples with it, one thing is true: It is public policy that got us into this situation and it is only public policy that is going to get us out of this situation. We can no longer afford to kick the proverbial can down the road. The current and future health of so many of our children are relying on it.
Multiple issues are being raised to challenge the increase in the minimum wage. In fact there are an enormous amount of data to contradict the majority of these concerns, and not enough space here to counter each one individually. One such concern that I’d like to address is what is referred to as the “benefits cliff.” The benefits cliff is a term that is used in order to describe barriers for low-income families trying to move up the economic ladder. For example, making a higher hourly wage could mean that an individual no longer qualifies for a certain type of public assistance, which would leave them worse off than they were before. But the reality is that there has always been benefits cliff. The benefits cliff is a completely separate issue from the minimum wage, that needs to be addressed. Considering the minimum wage would only increase $4.50 an hour by 2024, it strikes me that there is ample time for our lawmakers to address the ongoing issue of the benefits cliff. It is not a reasonable excuse to not raise the wages of Vermonters, especially when you take into account the ever increasing economic and societal costs that not making this change will create, especially for our youngest Vermonters. We are becoming increasingly aware of the negative impact that early childhood trauma has on our youngest Vermonters throughout their lifetime. Poverty plays a significant role in this and is a contributing factor to much of the trauma that they experience.
The bill that is currently on the table, S.40, includes provisions to ensure that families do not lose their child care benefit as the wages increase, requiring our legislators to find the appropriations. Most of the families impacted won’t end up with more money in their pocket, but they will need to use fewer public services. What this means is that there will be more money in the public coffers that could be earmarked to partially address the benefits cliff. The reality is that the minimum wage should be $15 right now. More money going out to low-income families means more money coming right back into our local economy, which will result in an increase in the tax base.
The estimate under the current law is that the minimum wage will not reach $15 an hour until 2034. I doubt that the cost of housing and the cost of living will decrease dramatically between now and then. Doing nothing right now in my opinion is not reasonable as it will cost us much more in the long run.
There is a way out of this but it requires legislators to take action now and not delay any longer. It requires an end to austerity budgets that overtime, put us deeper in the hole. Yes, the state budget will have to increase to make this happen but in prevention you need to spend money over time in order to make a long-term positive impact, and in order to ultimately decrease the budget. Addressing this issue now will additionally lead to other health impact savings over time. I am adding my voice to the voices of the majority of Vermonters that were surveyed on Town Meeting Day, that support increasing the minimum wage. The current and future health of those among us who have no voice, our children, are relying on us to do what’s right and necessary, right now.
