Still kicking
I guess I have to kick off borrowing a quote from Mark Twain, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” In her March 5 letter, Jeannette R. Wiley wonders what I would think (if I were alive) of proposed legislation from my daughter, Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-axelrod, “to replace government with multiculturalism.”
First, that is not what the bill does. It merely codifies in Nevada statute what the then-republican-controlled Legislature enacted in 2015. In that legislation, it replaced “government” with “civics.” “Government” is the system of rules and the people who make them. “Civics” includes government, but also includes the role of citizens within government. I think that is a good thing.
Regarding multiculturalism, its inclusion in the bill is nothing new. The 2015 law also included teaching multiculturalism. And to answer Ms. Wiley, I think that is a good thing as well. Failing to fully appreciate the diversity of our citizens would result in laws that disenfranchise them. And since when is opening up your mind to different cultures and beliefs a bad thing?
While I am proud of my daughter’s work, this isn’t her bill. It is the Department of Education’s bill, and because she is the chair of the Assembly Education Committee, it was her job to hold the hearing.
Just to recap: Still alive; the Republican-led Legislature of 2015 started us down this road; being better informed about people with different backgrounds is good; and I am so proud of my daughter.
Let’s look at some facts to have an informed opinion.
First, what percentage of our hourly workers make the minimum wage or less? Fifty percent? Twenty percent? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2019 1.9 percent of the 84 million hourly wage workers made the minimum or less.
Who were these people? The minimum wage requirement does not apply to businesses having less than two employees and those with annual sales of less than $500,000. Several categories of workers make the minimum wage or less. These are workers 16-24 years of age, workers without a high school diploma and food service workers.
Politicians have said that, had the 2009 minimum wage of $7.25 been indexed to inflation, it would now be about $20 an hour. Since 2009, the CPI has risen
1.6 percent per year. With that, the minimum wage would now be less than $10 per hour. Politicians used an inflation rate of 9.66 percent, more than five times the CPI growth during that time.
Forget the rhetoric, the hand wringing, the angst and the sound and fury and look at the facts. Then maybe we all can put this matter into perspective. Political energy would be better focused on getting our economy and schools back on track and beating COVID-19. Also, do not confuse the minimum wage with the living wage.