[Weekly Wonk] Interim studies focused on children and youth issues | Overcoming complacency | Minimum wage

The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Having trouble viewing this email? View it in your web browser Sunday, July 31, 2022 Subscribe  //  View latest headlines Policy Matters: Change requires overcoming complacency Read Policy Matters Interim studies indicate increased focus on children and youth issues (Capitol Update) Read Capitol Update Numbers of the Day $15.75 per hour — Estimated living wage for a single childless adult in Oklahoma. For a single person with one child, the living rate is $30.94 per hour. [Living Wage Calculator, MIT] 1 in 4 — Rate of Oklahoma jobs in occupations with median annual pay below 100% poverty threshold for a family of four ($25,100) [Prosperity Now] 3 in 5 — Rate of women who occupy minimum wage jobs in Oklahoma [National Women's Law Center] 30 — Number of states that have minimum wager higher than the federal minimum wage rate [Yahoo Finance]  $2.13 per hour — Oklahoma's "tipped minimum wage" for certain employees who earn regular tips — such as restaurant servers — may be paid a minimum wage lower than the state or federal minimum, so long as the tips make up the difference. [U.S. Department of Labor] Weekly 'What's That?' Minimum Wage The minimum wage is the lowest wage per hour that may be paid by law to most employees in most jobs. The U.S. federal government first adopted a national minimum wage in 1938 as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and it has been raised by Congress over twenty times since then.  The federal minimum wage was set as $7.25 per hour effective July 2009. The federal minimum wage has remained unchanged for over 12 years, the longest period ever without an increase. During this period, the minimum wage has lost over 20 percent of its value when adjusted for inflation, and some 40 percent of its value compared to its peak in 1968. As of 2021, Oklahoma is one of 20 states that has a minimum wage set at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Meanwhile, 30 states and D.C. have set a higher minimum, of which 20, including four of Oklahoma's neighbors, are higher than $10 per hour. In addition, 45 cities have set a local minimum wage higher than their state minimum. However, the Oklahoma Legislature in 2014 passed a preemption law prohibiting municipalities from setting their own minimum wage. Some employees may be paid less than the minimum wage, also known as the subminimum wage. For example, an employer may pay a tipped employee as little as $2.13 an hour in direct wages if that amount plus the tips received equal at least the federal minimum wage, the employee retains all tips, and the employee customarily and regularly receives more than $30 a month in tips. Employers may also gain authorization to pay subminimum wages to workers who have disabilities for the work being performed. Certain young workers and full-time student workers may also be paid less than the standard minimum wage. Look up more key terms to understand Oklahoma politics and government here. Quote of the Week "When adjusted for population and inflation, Oklahoma is spending 12% less than it did in 2000. We've been here before. We can't cut our way to prosperity." -Emma Morris, Health Care and Revenue Policy Analyst, OK Policy, addressing the proposed "supply side revival" policies that seek to cut taxes. [Tulsa World]  Editorial of the Week Enid News & Eagle Editorial: Options available to help inflation pressures on Oklahoma families What to do with $698 million? The Legislature is trying to figure that out since Oklahoma did not win the Panasonic plant our state had been wooing with that monetary incentive. Lawmakers aren't sure yet how they'll spend that money – or even if they will spend that money in the short-term; however, there are some options they could consider. First, they could keep the money and hold it for another economic incentive project. Some lawmakers say Panasonic is considering building a second plant in Oklahoma; however, who knows when that might happen? While the state should definitely keep up its economic development recruiting efforts, it might not be necessary to pigeonhole that entire amount in the short-term. Prior to the Panasonic proposal, lawmakers were toying with various ideas to help offset inflationary pressures for Oklahomans in the form of tax cuts or incentives. Many Republican lawmakers at the time wanted to temporarily suspend the state sales tax on groceries. Democrats are in favor of reinvesting those funds back into core services. They are recommending money should be put into the state's coffers so the state's gas tax can be put on hold and the state sales tax on groceries can be cut. While putting a hold on state grocery sales tax is viable, cutting the state tax on fuel is not, simply because those taxes fund road and infrastructure improvements — something Oklahoma already is behind in and desperately needs to keep in place. It would make sense to maintain some of those funds for a future economic development project; however, state leaders also should consider inflation relief, including updating the state Sales Tax Relief Credit to account for inflation, passing a one-time tax rebate targeted to Oklahomans most impacted by inflation and restoring inflation protection for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Providing inflation relief immediately would benefit low- to moderate-income families the most. Inflation targets the very items these families spend the most of their income on. These options would provide some immediate relief most families need but wouldn't do future economic damage by passing permanent tax cuts. [Editorial / Enid News & Eagle] This Week We're Reading... Rising minimum wages in 20 states and localities help protect workers and families against higher prices [Economic Policy Institute] NOTE: July 24th marked the 13th anniversary of the last time the minimum wage was increased.  States That Raise Minimum Wage May Counterbalance Inflation [Society for Human Resource Management]  Nearly Half of States Raised Their Minimum Wage This Year [Route Fifty] The cheeseburger economics of the minimum wage [OK Policy Archive] The State of Work: Valuing Work [OK Policy Archive] What's up this week at Oklahoma Policy Institute? The Weekly Wonk shares our most recent publications and other resources to help you stay informed about Oklahoma. Numbers of the Day and Policy Notes are from our daily news briefing, In The Know. Click here to subscribe to In The Know. Your support makes this possible. OK Policy is here to cut through the noise and look at the bottom line for what this means for everyday Oklahomans. Tax-deductible donations from individuals like you makes our work possible. Support Our Work With Your Donation Contact Oklahoma Policy Institute 907 S. Detroit Ave. #1005 | Tulsa, Oklahoma 74120 918-794-3944 | info@okpolicy.org Connect with us: Unsubscribe or Manage Your Preferences