Raise The Minimum Wage – More Young Leave Ohio Than Any Other State
I heard an interesting statistic recently. Our state loses more young people aged 18-24 to jobs and opportunities outside Ohio than any other state in our nation. Not something to be proud of. As an educator at Columbus State Community College, I’ve seen thousands of students pass through Columbus State to go on to bigger, better jobs in other states. We can turn this around in Ohio, if we make our state a better place to live and work.
To rebuild Ohio economically, we must do three things:
1) Raise the minimum wage
2) Provide universal health insurance to all Ohio citizens
3) Make all state government contractors pay a living wage
I fully support the campaign to raise the state’s minimum wage to $6.85 an hour. The more we create a stable middle class society, the more we’ll reduce crime and the need for our massive prison industrial complex. The more we pay people, the more likely they are to afford to send their children to college or get increased education and training for themselves. Instead of exporting the greatest amount of 18-24-year-old educated and trained young adults to other states, we may keep the talent here in Ohio.
These proposals, along with increased funding for education, will make Ohio a progressive and productive state.
I bet if most students were cut loose on an independent track, they would surpass any curriculum strictures and excel in their desired path.
What about subsidized college tuition? And we don’t need a 6.85 minimum wage—we need a living wage, ie. $9.75/hr.
Dave,
Are you sure that $9.75 is the “living wage”? I read over a year ago that it was over $10 an hour then. But you’re right. The $6.85 is a pathetic raise! I’ll vote for it because it’s an increase, but I wish we were voting to adopt a “living wage.”