Virtual House graphic: Closer look at who gains with local raises

As we have shown, about 85,000 Iowa workers stand to gain from local minimum-wage increases in Linn, Johnson and Polk counties when they are fully phased in as scheduled in 2019. As we show above, the beneficiaries are not who minimum-wage proponents typically attempt to portray in dismissing the importance of the wage.

Well over half are women, workers over age 20, and full-time workers. These are jobs that are essential in meeting household budgets.

Iowa’s minimum wage is $7.25, where it has stood for over nine years. Johnson, Linn, Polk and Wapello counties have passed increases scheduled to reach between $10.10 and $10.75 by 2019.

For more about the minimum wage in Iowa, both statewide and locally, visit this page on the IPP website.

Editor’s Note: The Iowa House of Representatives now denies the ability of lawmakers to use visual aids in debate on the floor. To help Iowans visualize what kinds of graphics might be useful in these debates to illustrate facts, on several days this session we are offering examples. In today’s graphic, we illustrate the impacts of local minimum wages that have been approved in Iowa. We focus on three of the four counties where wages higher than the statewide $7.25 has been approved. In the fourth county, Wapello, the impact has been blunted by the refusal of the city of Ottumwa to go along with it.

Author: iowapolicypoints

The Iowa Policy Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that provides research and analysis to engage Iowans in state policy decisions. We focus on tax and busget issues, the Iowa economy, and energy and environmental policy. By providing a foundation of fact-based, objective research and engaging the public in an informed discussion of policy alternatives, IPP advances effective, accountable and fair government. View all posts by iowapolicypoints