helping families rise above poverty

On Election Day Ohio joined 5 other states in defying the Federal government and passed a constitutional amendment raising the state minimum wage to $6.85. This is the first time in a decade that Ohio has passed a law raising the minimum wage, and the provision in the amendment that requires the adjustment of the wage every year, will make sure that it never takes that long again.

Voters overwhelmingly supported the passage of Issue 2, with 56 percent of Ohio residents voting YES for a minimum wage hike, compared to 44 percent voting no. Whether or not voters were not aware of the provisions that would allow employers to release their records, the issue seemed to be simply overlooked.

It is yet to be seen how the raising of the minimum wage will affect both Ohio workers and the state economy.

There are other arguments that propose that the minimum wage increase will simply not help as many as proponents of the Issue would like to think. At $5.15 an hour (full time) in a two-person household with one wage-earner, that household would still make $3,000 less than the poverty level. At $6.85 an hour one would earn about $1,000 over the poverty level for a two person household, but would still not be enough to support a family.

Here’s the math:



These figures are also assuming that:
- The worker is working the equivalent of a 40-hours work week every single week
- The worker does not take any unpaid vacations, s ick days, etc.
- Does not take into account the actual pay after taxes are taken out

On the other hand, they also do not take into account:
- If a worker works more than the standard 40 hours a week
- There is no overtime pay
- A second income is not being earned either by the worker or a partner

The raising of the minimum wage will be an obvious help to those trying to support another person, or a family, especially if there are two wage earners. It is yet to be seen how families living on these wages will fare under the new law.