Minimum wage on ballot

BY TOBI ASHOUPE
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Columbus Post

Until March 2006, the minimum wage in Ohio was $4.25 making Ohio one of the only two states in the nation to be below the federal level of $5.15. The last federal minimum wage increase took place in 1996. On a national level, the minimum wage is expected to increase to $7.90 by 2009. Studies have shown that states that have increased the minimum wage see an increase in jobs despite statements by opponents. Twenty-two states have increased their mini-mum wage above the federal level including Ohio’s neighbors Indiana and Pennsylvania. In November, voters will have the opportunityto vote on Issue 2, which if passed, would increasethe state’s minimum wage to $6.85, effective in January. The issue has been contested for many years.This year, petitions were gathered with 363,183 signatures, 40,284 more than what was required to place the issue on the November ballot.The annual income of an employee making $5.15 per hour, working a 40-hour week is $10,712 before taxes. That is more than $2,000 below the poverty line, which is $13,000 for a family of two.