Bartlett: Republican supermajority in the Indiana House rejects public voice on minimum wage hike
STATEHOUSE – For the second consecutive year, Indiana House Republicans have refused to consider letting Hoosiers have a voice in deciding whether to increase the state’s minimum wage.
The House supermajority rejected a proposal from State Rep. John Bartlett (D-Indianapolis) that would have placed a non-binding referendum on the statewide ballot in 2016 to ask whether the people of Indiana would support an increase of the state’s minimum wage.
The amendment, offered to House Bill 1303, was rejected without a single vote of support from the 71-member House supermajority.
“Across this country, elected officials are realizing that a minimum wage of $7.25 does not help people who are finding it difficult to make ends meet for themselves and their families,” Bartlett said. “In fact, more than half of the states – 29, along with the District of Columbia – have minimum wages above the federal rate of $7.25.
“The supermajorities that control state government in Indiana do not agree with that growing consensus,” he continued. “They think Hoosiers can live on $7.25 an hour, and prefer to talk about how many new jobs are being created.
“However, the fact of the matter is that those jobs are not paying a decent living wage,” Bartlett noted. “The average household income in Indiana has declined from $53,482 in 2002 to $46,974 in 2013. Over the past decade, household incomes in 47 other states have grown at a faster rate than Indiana. While we continue to focus on tax breaks for the very rich and debate legislation that would eliminate a common construction wage that helps so many workers across Indiana earn a decent living, those in charge consistently refuse to do anything to help those who need our help the most.”
Bartlett noted his proposal was designed simply to give lawmakers an idea of the mood of the people of Indiana so something could be done.
“This is a serious public policy issue that deals with the lives of so many people in this state,” Bartlett said. “It remains a disappointment that we cannot get the House supermajority to even try to get a sense of the public’s feelings on a minimum wage hike. Perhaps they are afraid of what the people might say, because it might compel them to have to give some kind of tax relief to those who don’t occupy the boardrooms of our largest corporations.”