Why a Living Wage?
According to the 2020 United Ways of Maryland’s ALICE Report, 28% of Howard County households are struggling financially. These are families and individuals who are working hard and fighting with all they’ve got, but who can’t make ends meet despite their best efforts, which often include working multiple, low-paying jobs. These are our neighbors living below the ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, and Employed) threshold.
Who are these folks? They staff our schools and childcare centers. They’ve worked through the pandemic at our stores, hospitals, and restaurants. We count on members of these 33,000 struggling households every day to maintain the infrastructures and operations we rely on to navigate our daily lives with ease. They are our essential workers, yet they can’t afford life’s essentials — housing, food, health care, child care, transportation, and taxes. These neighbors deserve better.
The minimum wage has been debated recently by our nation’s leaders and fair wage advocates. Thanks to the Maryland Fight for $15 campaign (organized by our friends and partners at 1199SEIU), the state of Maryland is now on a graduated path to a $15/hour minimum wage, culminating in 2025. Last year in Howard County, Councilperson Liz Walsh sponsored CR143, a resolution calling for the Howard County Council to support the Fight for $15 Coalition. While an important show of support, this resolution did not change the current minimum wage in the county which is $11.75. Howard County needs to do what our neighboring counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s have done, and take action to reach $15 faster than the statewide law dictates.
All our people deserve the dignity of a paycheck that reflects their important work and provides for their independence. Higher wages will help our entire community. When income increases:
- Families can provide more nutritious food for their children,
- Crime decreases,
- Children do better on standardized tests and finish more years of school,
- Families are more stably housed, meaning their children experience less school mobility and greater school engagement,
- Families can save for their children’s educations or for emergency expenses,
- The economy will grow!
Now is the time to innovate a new future of work for our families. We urge the County Council to advance legislation requiring a $15/hour minimum wage for all employers and government contractors beginning in 2022 to accelerate all Howard County residents’ ability to reach a living wage.