The minimum wage unicorn

Housing costs and low-income workers

The folks at the National Low Income Housing Coalition have made a stunning discovery: Households in which the sole earner makes the minimum wage will struggle to find decent housing.

But while the travails of the working poor are certainly worth addressing, the coalition’s poster boy of housing privation is more a unicorn than a reality.

“It’s clear that the minimum wage is not a livable wage,” said Andrew Aurand, vice president for research at the coalition, which last week released an annual report, “Out of Reach 2018.” To pay for an average one-bedroom apartment in Las Vegas, a minimum wage worker without health benefits would need to work 73 hours a week, the group calculates.

The study is a twofer for progressives. It exaggerates a problem in an effort to push lawmakers to outlaw more jobs by jacking up the minimum wage and to funnel more money from taxpayers into state and local housing subsidies.

But putting aside debates over what is “affordable” and what percentage of a family’s earnings may be comfortably spent on housing, the report ignores one glaring fact: Virtually no American families exist that consist of a lone worker pulling down the minimum wage.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.6 percent of all workers earned the minimum wage or less in 2016. A great many of these employees — particularly those who reported making an hourly wage below the $7.25 federal minimum — are tip earners, meaning they likely make well above the floor.

In addition, about half of all minimum wage earners are 25 or younger, meaning they are probably not supporting a family and toil in entry-level jobs that will allow them to earn valuable experience they can use to advance themselves. Moreover, the BLS reports that the majority of minimum wage earners work in part-time jobs, suggesting they are supplementing household income rather than being the sole provider of it.

Local housing costs are indeed rising, and this may obviously cause hardships for low-income earners. But higher taxes, wage mandates and other heavy handed regulatory “solutions” will only exacerbate the problem by killing jobs, discouraging entrepreneurship and adding to the bureaucratic red tape that drives up housing costs in the first place.

And groups such as the National Low Income Housing Coalition should stop propagating the fallacy that thousands of American families and their children lack adequate housing because they’re led by a single worker who can’t find anything but minimum wage work.

The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-journal. All other opinions expressed on the Opinion and Commentary pages are those of the individual artist or author indicated. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only about 1.6 percent of all workers earned the minimum wage or less in 2016.

The Review-journal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 275 words and must include the writer’s name, mailing address and phone number. Submissions may be edited and become the property of the Review-journal.

Email letters@reviewjournal.com Mail Letters to the Editor

P.O. Box 70

Las Vegas, NV 89125

Fax 702-383-4676 The only trouble is that the website was inoperative. We tried it several times. Finally, we called 311 and were told that an officer would respond. After about two hours, two officers responded. We thank them, but it was too late.

How do we, as a community, deal with this? I think the answer lies with law enforcement and the judiciary. To get this done, the politicians must get involved. I do not blame Metro. The department does what it can with limited resources. The key to enforcement is strong laws and strong penalties. Examples must be made. fireworks sold on the corner. They are dangerous illegal fireworks purchased in Pahrump or from the reservation outside of Las Vegas. When are we going to get serious about this?