Old Line Elephant Maryland Conservative Blog

My Letter to Senator Stone on the Minimum Wage

As State Senator Norm Stone (D-MD) currently represents me, I decided to send him the following letter about my opposition to proposed legislation to raise Maryland's minimum wage to nearly $10 an hour.

Senator Stone,

My name is Matthew Newman and I'm a resident of Legislative District 6. State Senate Minority Leader Rob Garagiola has proposed legislation which will eventually raise the minimum wage to nearly $10 an hour. I oppose this legislation.

I have seen the impact of raising the minimum wage. Small businesses are hurt and unskilled workers lose their jobs. Businesses begin to cut corners and work with fewer employees as the cost to do their business rises. Those who do not let some employees go, merely raise the costs of their services or goods. This, in turn, hurts everyone - especially in our current economic condition.

According to federal statistics, in 2009 only 4.9% of all employees were making the minimum wage. Half of those workers were under the age of 25. These are not people raising their families. The minimum wage is not a living wage, it's exactly what the name implies - the least amount of money a business is allowed to pay an employee. Raising this number to nearly $10 an hour is outrageous.

I also have a personal story. A friend of mine worked for Walmart in their tire repair center for years. Through hard work, he rose through the ranks and went from making the minimum wage at the time, approximately $5.50 an hour, to $7 an hour. A few weeks after his promotion / raise, the federal minimum wage rose to $7 an hour. His salary did not rise, but all those who worked alongside him did see their salaries rise. Newer employees and even those who had not worked nearly as hard as him were handed a raise. It was discouraging to him as it is to many people.

A minimum wage hike is unnecessary and irresponsible at this time. I ask you to strongly oppose this legislation if it makes it way out of committee. Thank you for your time, Senator.

-Matt Newman