Readers Split On Bill To Gradually Increase The Minimum Wage In St. Louis

Readers split on the question of raising the minimum wage in St. Louis.  Here are the results of the Sunday Poll:

Q: A bill introduced Friday would raise the minimum wage in St. Louis to $10/hr, with annual increases of $1.25/hr until reaching $15/hr in 2020. I…

1. Strongly support 12 [25.53%]
2. Oppose 11 [23.4%]
3. Support 10 [21.28%]
4. Strongly oppose 9 [19.15%]
5. Neutral 3 [6.38%]
6. Unsure/no opinion 2 [4.26%]

Support narrowly edged opposition 22-20.  The common argument against raising the minimum wage is that doing so would lead to inflation. That’s interesting, because the minimum wage hasn’t kept up with inflation:

Myth: The federal minimum wage goes up automatically as prices increase.

Not true: While some states have enacted rules in recent years triggering automatic increases in their minimum wages to help them keep up with inflation, the federal minimum wage does not operate in the same manner. An increase in the federal minimum wage requires approval by Congress and the president. However, in his call to gradually increase the current federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, President Obama has also called for it to adjust automatically with inflation. Eliminating the requirement of formal congressional action would likely reduce the amount of time between increases, and better help low-income families keep up with rising prices.
Myth: The federal minimum wage is higher today than it was when President Reagan took office.

Not true: While the federal minimum wage was only $3.35 per hour in 1981 and is currently $7.25 per hour in real dollars, when adjusted for inflation, the current federal minimum wage would need to be more than $8 per hour to equal its buying power of the early 1980s and more nearly $11 per hour to equal its buying power of the late 1960s. That’s why President Obama is urging Congress to increase the federal minimum wage and give low-wage workers a much-needed boost. (Minimum Wage Mythbusters — U.S. Dept of Labor)

Not raising the minimum wage means these people find it harder and harder to survive each year as most everyone else gets raises, and groceries and other goods go up in cost. People are also focusing on $15/hr — that rate isn’t happening soon anywhere — increases will be gradual:

Among the cities that have enacted even higher local minimums are San Francisco ($15 by 2018), Seattle ($15 by 2021), Chicago ($13 by 2019) and Washington, D.C. ($11.50 by 2016), according to the National Employment Law Project. (5 facts about the minimum wage — Pew Reseach)

I hope this bill passes.

— Steve Patterson

Second Downtown Dog Park: Land Between Federal Courthouse & Stadium West Parking Garage

Today’s post continues a series on a 2nd dog park for downtown:

• March: Temporary Dog Park On Former Cupples 7 Site Would Be Too Costly
• April: Second Downtown Dog Park: Serra’s ‘Twain’
• May: Second Downtown Dog Park: Wedge Between Busch Stadium & MetroLink Line

Today’s site is close to residents in the Cupples district and is also a good site for new construction. Unlike the others, this site is privately owned.

Fencing this square would better define the federally-owned public park and provide much-needed activity.  The owner might get a tax credit if it leased the land to a non-profit dog park. As you can see there are numerous locations downtown for a 2nd dog park.

— Steve Patterson

Day Trip To Atlanta For First Anniversary

Today is my wedding anniversary — my first ever.  When I finally acknowledged to myself, at age 16, that I was gay, the idea of marrying a man 30+ years later never entered my mind.  Thankfully the political & social landscape has changed a lot since then!

To celebrate we decided to visit Atlanta…Illinois, not Georgia. First we visited his family in Springfield IL, then we headed north to Atlanta. This small town on the old Route 66 was incorporated in 1853.

We decided to save the tour of the wood J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator Museum and other sites for our next visit.  After Atlanta we drove 5 minutes North on the old Route 66 to the smaller town of McLean IL, incorporated 13 years later. We’d actually been to McLean before — the truck stop right off I-55 is where Megabus stops to/from Chicago.

These towns sprang up in the 19th century because of the railroad, which has me curious about how the railroads got their right-of-way. I also find the street patterns in these towns — in relation to the railroad — interesting.

The design of the original town of McLean remains almost unaltered to this day from the original plans. The design was similar to other places along the Alton and Springfield Railroad including Normal, Towanda, Odell, and Dwight. The original town was basically a square with streets aligned north-south and east-west, split diagonally by the railroad with a line of lots paralleling either side of the tracks.

As in other towns along the same railroad, there was a widened rectangular area paralleling the tracks labeled “Depot Grounds.” In the case of McLean, the Depot Grounds were laid out only on the southeast side of the railroad. The triangle of land on the northwest side, between the lots paralleling the railroad and remainder of the town, was designated as a public property and is still used as a park. The comparable triangle on the opposite side of the tracks was unlabeled and its intended use is unclear. This same arrangement of public land was followed at the town of Towanda.

Mclean was distinctive in that there were no streets between the diagonal line of lots along the tracks.Perhaps because of this, much of the business district developed along Morgan Street, which ran east-west just north of the park, or along Hamilton Street, which ran north-south, just west of the park. The line of lots paralleling the tracks and southeast of the railroad became the location of the hotel and the town jail. Later additions on the east side of the town featured additional lots which parallel the railroad as well as more conventional blocks (Wikipedia)

 Interstate 55 in this area opened in 1977, making the remaining Route 66 a by-road. We had a great day exploring Illinois, eating good food, and playing video games — a perfect way to celebrate our first anniversary!

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: Should St. Louis Gradually Raise The Minimum Wage To $15/hr By 2020?

Board bill 83 (not online yet) was introduced at the Board of Aldermen on Friday morning. If eventually signed into law, it would set up incremental raises to the minimum wage in the City of St. Louis. This seemed like a good topic for a reader poll.

Here’s the exact poll question:

A bill introduced Friday would raise the minimum wage in St. Louis to $10/hr, with annual increases of $1.25/hr until reaching $15/hr in 2020. I…

The answers range from “strongly support” to “strongly oppose.” The poll, located in the right sidebar, will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

The Start of Summer

Summer officially begins on June 21st at 11:38am CST, but for me it began when I saw the green cherry tomatoes on one of our three tomato plants.

We also have chives and an extra planter of cilantro — a herb we buy often. What are you growing this year? What is the start of summer for you?

— Steve Patterson