Good news, y’all: Oregon’s minimum wage will rise from $8.40/hour to $8.50 on January 1, 2011. That’s thanks for Measure 25, which squeaked past voters in 2002 and increases minimum wage as inflation increases. “It’s a great law, it’s working very well. It’s solved the problem of large, unexpected jumps in the minimum wage that lawyers don’t like,” says Chuck Sheketoff of the Oregon Center for Public Policy. “It’s made it so minimum wage is not a political hot potato in Oregon anymore.”

Okay, here’s the bad news: According to the Sheketoff, a full-time minimum wage worker will earn $17,680 under the new wage. If that person is the only breadwinner for a family of three, that family still falls below the federal poverty line.

But hey, our minimum wage is better than 48 other states—only Washington’s is higher.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

8 replies on “Poors, You Get Another Dime! Oregon Minimum Wage Jumps 10 Cents”

  1. Who thinks a minimum wage was meant to support a family of 3?

    More bad news Mirk – now more than ever businesses will start laying off employees and working the rest harder thanks to this idiotic law!

  3. And $40K a year probably can’t support a family of 15. In general one would be well-advised not to repeatedly have kids you can’t pay for.

  4. Yup. Nobody ever planned for a no-skills, no promotions, no raises wage to be able to support a family. It’s meant to keep a person off the streets and fed, which $17 K per year will do.

  7. @D: A $.1/hour wage increase will result in about zero layoffs. After all taxes and stuff are factored in, this will result a cost to employers of approximately $8 per week (assuming a 40 hour work week). If your business can’t afford that and has no idea of how to pass increased costs along to the consumer, your business deserves to fail because you’re awful at business.

  8. I never said it would cause businesses to fail.
    But thank you for pointing out how all the increase does is drive up the cost of living for everyone anyway.

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