About those low wages

Idaho is near the bottom of the national barrel in average wages. Put another way: Our average wages are far below average.

So what are you going to do about it?

You can clamor for the state or feds to raise the minimum wage, but as numerous studies have shown, that carries inherent risk that higher minimum pay will be offset by an overall loss of jobs and the potential reduction of full-time jobs to part-time. And a federal jump in the lowest allowable wages might improve Idaho's average wage, but it would also raise every other state's, as well, meaning Idaho would still be near the bottom of the pile.

A better, more permanent solution - and one that's going to require more work - is to increase the value of today's and tomorrow's Idaho employees. Raising wages without any correlation to the quantity or quality of work performed violates basic economic principles. To make real gains, as employees, we've got to get better. And as employers, we've got to demand better.

The May issue of North Idaho Business Journal focuses on Idaho's low-wage challenges. With expert analysis from University of Idaho economist Steven Peterson, the cover story explores why it's critical to change the state's culture if we're going to become more competitive. Changing the culture won't be easy, but until educators, parents and students all pull in the same direction - improving our skills to increase the value of what we produce - we'll continue to be harnessed to the ox of poor pay.

So how do we improve? For starters, parents and educators need to instill in students that education and training are means to better ends. When a high school graduate wonders what he or she is going to do next, the foundation of a low lifetime wage has already been laid. Much earlier, that student needs to be pointing in some direction, and even if that direction changes, the goal should be acquiring skills that will lead to a good job.

Also in the May issue is an important column from Dr. Robert Ketchum, making a compelling argument for apprenticeships to help prepare and significantly improve the value of employees. How's this for an opening sentence: "The real minimum wage for the unskilled will always remain $0."

Ketchum, Peterson and others will share their ideas and their knowledge about Idaho's low-wage plight, and it is our hope that families and educators will consider their suggestions to buck that devastating trend. The fix won't be quick, but applied correctly, it can lift Idahoans to new heights of economic stability.

Look for the May North Idaho Business Journal in The Press this Tuesday, and in businesses throughout Kootenai County.