Higher pay sought

COEUR d'ALENE - U.S. Senate candidate Nels Mitchell and House candidate Shirley Ringo believe a major disconnect exists when it comes to the issue of minimum wage.

Idaho's all-Republican congressional delegation and Republican majority in the state Legislature oppose an increase of the minimum wage. Meanwhile, a majority of the public supports additional pay for the state's lowest-wage workers, Mitchell and Ringo, both Democrats, said Monday.

The two were in Coeur d'Alene campaigning together, organizing what they called a "Living Wage Rally" at Riverstone Park. They also appeared earlier in the day together in Lewiston for a rally, and made appearances throughout the state on earlier dates.

"There's a huge disconnect," Mitchell said in an interview. "As I'm traveling around the state, what I hear is people don't like what's going on in Boise and they don't like what's going on in Washington, D.C."

There is currently a proposal in Washington, D.C., to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10.

"If and when Shirley and I are back in Washington, D.C., we will support that wholeheartedly," said Mitchell, who is seeking to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Risch.

If that federal proposal was approved, it would increase the wages of 176,000 Idahoans, Mitchell said.

"The average age of the minimum wage worker is 35 years old," Mitchell told the audience in Coeur d'Alene.

More than 25 percent of minimum wage workers are parents, he said.

Neighboring states have raised their minimum wage rates and didn't lose jobs as a result, Mitchell said.

"If you look at any of the economic studies, the states that have raised the minimum wage have not lost jobs," Mitchell said.

"If your business plan involves somebody living in poverty so that you can make a go of it (in business) there's probably something wrong with it," said Ringo, who has been a state legislator from Moscow for 14 years, and is running against incumbent Congressman Raul Labrador.

In an interview after the rally, Ringo said greed is ruining the country.

Idaho's elected officials, primarily the Republican majority, are more influenced by lobbyists and business interest groups than the lower- and middle-class working public and voters, Ringo said. She said Idaho legislators are afraid to lose their seats if business interests turn against them for supporting higher wages.

"We really don't need to worry about that if we get it done on the federal level," Ringo said. "Sometimes for Idaho that's the solution."

The two argued that increasing the minimum wage means local businesses will have more customers who spend more money and more people will be independent of public assistance.

The two will need people who earn the low wages to get out and vote in November if they have a chance of winning this fall, they said.

Mitchell, of Boise, has been a practicing attorney for more than 30 years in both the public and private sectors.

Fifteen people attended the Democrats' rally.