The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted what so many Granite State workers already knew, no one can live on $7.25 per hour.
The ripple effects of New Hampshire’s unlivable minimum wage are far-reaching, affecting our workforce, hurting our economy, and most critically, hurting the people we represent. As the saying goes, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” It is time for us, as elected officials, to do better by our constituents.
That is why I was proud to once again introduce legislation to raise the minimum wage. SB 203 is simple — incrementally increase New Hampshire’s minimum wage between September of 2022 to July of 2024 from $10 per hour, $12 per hour, and finally $15 per hour.
At the beginning of this year, 21 states across the country increased their minimum wages. New Hampshire is now the only state in New England, and only one of 15 states nationally, to follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. In fact, our minimum wage ranges from $5.00 to $7.00 dollars less per hour than every other New England state.
It is impossible to ignore the negative impacts that New Hampshire’s unlivable minimum wage has on both our employers and employees. Every day, we hear how businesses in nearly every sector are unable to find workers, forcing them to adopt irregular hours or close for days at a time. As an aging state facing an affordable housing crisis, we should be doing everything we can to help our businesses recruit and retain a highly-skilled, robust workforce.
By refusing to raise the minimum wage, we are telling the younger workforce that New Hampshire does not respect a hard day’s work. It is no wonder that so many Granite Staters cross the border into neighboring states every day for higher wages.
But this is about more than just workforce development. There are long-term savings we stand to deliver to taxpayers by increasing the minimum wage. By failing to pay a livable wage here in New Hampshire, we are effectively ensuring that more Granite Staters access and remain on government assistance in order to get by. Despite what the opposition’s perceptions may be, the truth is that most recipients of government assistance work, or have a family member who works. In fact, 66.6% of assistance recipients across the country either work or are in families where at least one adult in the household works.
The reality is that in our state right now, a person working 40 hours a week at minimum wage, working all year with no time off, at $7.25 an hour, is making $15,000. That is below the federal poverty level, even for a household of just two, never mind providing for a family. It’s simply not enough for people to live on. Raising the minimum wage would directly reduce government spending on public assistance, particularly among workers likely to be affected by a federal minimum-wage increase. This is not only the right thing to do, it is the fiscally responsible thing to do, and represents real cost savings to taxpayers.
Just last year, we acted to lower the business profits tax, and taxes on interest and dividends were cut for the wealthiest of our citizens. If we can pass policies to support the top 3% wealthiest in our state, there is no reason we can’t at least provide a livable wage for those stuck at the poverty line.
I have been fighting this fight for the New Hampshire workforce for over a decade now. But this year feels different. Our employers are struggling with a mass workforce shortage and our low-wage employees, many of whom were on the front line during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, are still struggling to make ends meet. We are living in a different world than we were even just a year ago, and it’s well past time that we acknowledge the needs of our constituents and do what’s right for them.
(Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy represents Senate District 18, Wards 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in the City of Manchester and Litchfield.)