Minimum Wage Creates Homelessness

Professor Goss Not Adequately Cited on Serious Problem

Update: After some communications, this article has been adjusted.

One of the problems with talking to people about the minimum wage is they flat out feel sorry for the person on minimum wage and presume money is the answer when it is not.  A 17-year-old boy is tired of hearing his parents argue and picking on him. So he decides to do some “couch surfing” and spends weeks at a time at friends’ homes. He helps out with mowing and other chores but he really needs to pay for his food.

He does not need a real serious job. He could work for $5 dollars an hour for about 5 hours a week and have enough to pay for food and a few extras. With work, he would not be a freeloader and his hosts would be happy for him to stay for free as it costs them next to enough, and at least he is not slacking off. Also, with job experience, he will have a much better chance of obtaining a higher-paying, long-term job. But right now, this is not his goal.

However, if the minimum wage is at $15 an hour, the 5-hour job does not exist as employers will insist on the employee working at least 16 hours or more when he simply does not need that much money and they are more likely to insist on job experience when he does not. The end result is he has no job at all and ends up on the streets or worse.

Siena Francis House shelters about 500 people facing similar situations because Nebraska’s minimum wage is $9. Many of these so-called homeless people would not be in such dire straits if they had some income from mild employment, as they would find people willing to host them as working people. Instead, people shelter at Sienna Francis House, and more keep gathering. to the point, the City removes tent cities (https://www.wowt.com/2022/09/06/city-officials-staff-members-clear-out-homeless-tents-around-omaha-shelter/).

In fact, Omaha has a problem with “homeless” encampments. (https://www.wowt.com/content/news/Homeless-camp-mess-near-downtown-Omaha-486074561.html) I firmly believe several media outlets are downplaying the problem but the problem is becoming worse.

As much as I respect Dr. Ernie Goss, he is wrong to say minimum wage hikes have little impact (https://www.3newsnow.com/news/political/15-minimum-wage-on-nebraska-ballot-experts-say-it-wont-have-much-effect). The increase to a $9 minimum wage a few years ago resulted in a consolidation of grocery stores and closures. No Frills, Bag and Save, and Fairway grocery stores closed in some places. Many other stores added numerous self-checkout stands.

Here is another matter Goss fails to mention. Every minimum wage increase contributes to inflation which hurts the poorest of the poor most. This means the poorest of the poor get cut off at two ends. They cannot get a job to pay for food and if they have a job, y, the pay will not be much to buy much food. Perhaps the television crew was limited in time and Goss had expanded commentary not aired, but it made him sound elitist and ignorant of the facts.

If there is to be a minimum wage, it should be set to the same cost as a gallon of milk. Don’t want to pay $15 for milk? If not, you need to reconsider what should be the minimum wage because the reality is, some just want to work to prove they can pay for the food they eat. If you still want to defend $15, perhaps there should be law requiring you to tip panhandlers $15. Think this through. What is the payment measuring? Is everyone worth $15 an hour?