Iverson Ignores Iowa's Indigent
by John Drury
I guess I’m going to harp on the minimum wage again. I would have left it for next session since it’s obvious they aren’t going to touch it this year; but I see that the legislature is considering a bill that will raise their own wages by 17 percent over two years and I simply can’t resist. Yes, that’s right, in spite of a looming budget that is based on spending more than they are bringing in, an under-funded education system, the fact that there hasn’t been an increase in the minimum wage in years, and multiple other financial woes, they are considering a pay raise for themselves.
Right now, the average legislator makes around $21,500, this bill would jump that to $25,000 and leaders would go to somewhere around $37,500. Legislators also get a daily expense account of $86 per day, and monthly expenses of $200. This bill would jump the $86 to $105 and the $200 goes to $300.
I have to admit, I would think the final two weeks of this session will be more chaotic than most and it’s probably a wonderful opportunity to slide this in somewhere.
It’s absolutely amazing to me that any legislator would even consider such a move. In particular, the Republican “leadership” has blamed just about everything under the Iowa sun on the rising costs of state workers; and they have blocked attempts to even debate an increase in the state’s minimum wage. And to be fair, the Democrats haven’t been all that fired up about raising the minimum wage either; they offer it up each year and then watch it die without a fight. But probably the icing on the cake came this week when Senate Republican leader Stewart Iverson said he didn’t see the hypocrisy in not being willing to discuss raising the minimum wage while at the same time voting themselves a pay increase. “The minimum wage really isn’t a huge issue because I don’t know anybody working for that,” says Senator Iverson.
There are thousands of Iowans working for the minimum wage or just above that would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage and it’s a slap in the face to each and every Iowan for any senator to suggest that there isn’t an issue because he or she doesn’t know them.
Leaders from both parties suggest that it’s hard to recruit good candidates because the pay is so paltry. I would venture to say that if the candidate is looking at the pay as criteria for becoming a legislator, then perhaps that person is not a “good” candidate in the first place.
Public service is not about making money. It’s about having the desire to serve the public and passing meaningful legislation that will help the citizenry of the state, and I think most potential legislators understand this.
A raise in the minimum wage helps the least among us. To me, that is a very important part of public service. And to have a leader in our state government deny their very existence while at the same time giving himself a pay raise bespeaks an arrogance that is truly mind-boggling.
