Imagine doing hard work for minimum wage but not being able to afford rent anywhere near your place of employment. Of course, this is by no means an imaginary situation. It’s a real problem for thousands of Coloradans, and it’s one reason why the minimum wage is a modern-day fairness issue in our state and our nation. It’s a big reason why so many Coloradans are feeling left behind while the few at the top seem to get bigger earnings year in and year out.

In 2015, our statewide minimum wage was $8.23 per hour. Colorado voters passed a new constitutional minimum wage in 2006, and it increases or decreases yearly based on inflation. However, inflation has been low in recent years, so the increase was 14 cents per hour in 2013, 22 cents in 2014 and 23 cents in 2015. Of course, any increase is better than no increase, but nickels and dimes obviously won’t help a person much as they struggle with modern rental rates or other big expenses such as health care.

We’ve all heard of nationwide pushes for higher minimum wages, perhaps as high as $15 per hour. Yet, Colorado is a huge state, with wildly different localized economies. So, here’s the basic challenge: minimum wage workers in wealthier areas normally can’t afford much beyond bare-bones basics, but businesses in economically distressed areas might not be able to afford big increases in the minimum wage.

That’s why we sponsored a bill in 2015 (HB 15-1300) that would have allowed local governments to set their own minimum wage, higher than the state’s. Wealthier cities such as Aspen, Boulder or Castle Rock could set a minimum wage that would allow workers to have a better quality of life, and businesses would still thrive. Areas that don’t enjoy the same levels of economic activity, and probably have lower general costs of living, would be able to keep the state minimum wage.

I have introduced similar legislation this year, Senate Bill 16-054, and we hope our friends in the Republican Party will see fit to let it become law. However, they defeated HB 15-1300 in a Senate committee on a straight party-line vote, despite the fact that it passed the full House of Representatives.

According to the website rent jungle.com, the average one-bedroom apartment in Denver rented for $1,305 per month in October 2015. At this rate, a renter would pay $15,660 per year, while the current minimum wage adds up to about $17,118 at 40 hours per week. Obviously, minimum wage workers often shop for cheaper housing or find roommates, but these numbers illustrate how housing can eat up a gigantic portion of a person’s income, leaving little left over to cover basic expenses like food and clothing.

On the business side, research varies on what increasing the minimum wage would do to bottom lines. But a 2015 study from the Economic Policy Institute found that the real value of today’s federal minimum wage is far below what it was in 1968. It also says the minimum wage has not kept pace with increases in worker productivity, and workers are generally older and better-educated than they were in 1968 and even more productive than they were before the financial crisis in 2008.

Numbers are always debatable, but the basic needs of hardworking Coloradans are clearer. We all need shelter, nutrition, health care and transportation – and the needs are much greater if the worker is supporting a family. We’ve always supported ways for minimum wage workers to increase their earning potential – especially through education, training and personal initiative – but they deserve some quality of life while they develop. This bill can help.

–

Sen. Michael Merrifield is from Senate District 11, which represents Colorado Springs.