It’s time to raise minimum wage

On March 9, 2016 the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce hosted a Fifth District Supervisors candidate forum. Seven candidates who are running in this coming election in the primary on June 7 were there for the forum: Kathryn Barger, Elan Carr, Mitch Englander, Bob Huff, Ara Najarian, Darrell Park, and Billy Malone.

Communities within the Fifth District include Santa Clarita, Valencia and Canyon Country as well as the Antelope Valley, Pasadena, Glendale, Granada Hills, Burbank, Covina, Alhambra and others.

The host asked each candidate a few questions as they were timed to speak for a few minutes. He asked each candidate’s stance on minimum wage increasing to $15 an hour.

Kathryn Barger told the audience that minimum wage jobs are not careers and that the private sector would pay more, but it can’t afford it.

Minimum-wage workers help run businesses smoothly; without them businesses are in trouble.

Bob Huff wants to increase high-paying jobs and said the area needs to regain high-paying entertainment jobs. He mentioned that he has a good track record of regaining high-paying jobs.

He also told the audience that people make enough on minimum wage and said higher minimum wages could translate into fewer business start-up opportunities.

Billy Malone said he has worked three jobs to support his wife while she went to school. He also stated that increasing minimum wage would increase imbalance in wages, and that it is the responsibility for the federal government to make that decision.

Mitch Englander said he voted against increasing minimum wage because it creates a burden on businesses.

Elan Carr said he wants to support increasing the minimum wage, but he believes it can hurt businesses. Also, businesses would increase their prices to pay their employees more, he warned.

Ara Najarian said he is against increasing minimum wage.

Darrell Park told the audience that small increases in minimum wages makes sense, citing the example of Ford increasing minimum wage for his workers, who then were able to buy cars. Many people haven’t gone out to dinner for years because of low-paying jobs, he said. It is ridiculous to state that minimum wage job are not careers, because the time and effort may require a lower skill set, but these jobs still require enough time away from home so that workers should be able to make enough to provide for their families. People generally work because they need to support themselves and provide for their families, not for a hobby.

Minimum-wage workers help run businesses smoothly; without them businesses are in trouble. These workers deserve a livable wage that provides enough income so that they can take care of themselves.

It also doesn’t make any sense that the private sector cannot afford to pay their employees a higher minimum wage, especially since there has been a growing gap between the rich and poor for decades.

The minimum wage is way too low if there has been an increase in poverty in the past decades. Thus it does not make sense to not increase wages to levels that are livable for members who work hard in our communities. If anything, it would create a better balance between the rich and the poor.

The only burden that increasing the minimum wage would cause would be that businesses would be less profitable; however, it is likely that businesses would increase their prices if the minimum wage goes up, since there is a lack of regulations on how much a business can charge on their goods and services.

The Fifth District supervisor candidate forum was very helpful as far as raising awareness in the community about the candidates who are running and their stances on minimum wage.

Members of the community would have to decide which candidate would best suit them based on their needs.

There has been a growing gap between the rich and the poor for the past decade or two, and we need to have some kind of reform so our society can come to terms with how to go about closing the gap.

Enaya Hanbali is a Palmdale resident.