Weekly Opinion Editorial
DON’T SIGN #832!
by Steve Fair
Oklahoma is one of twenty-four states with an initiative petition
process. The process allows citizens to
circulate a petition among voters for the purpose of getting an issue on the
ballot. To get a State Question on the ballot
as a statute, eight (8) percent of the voters who voted in the last governor’s
race must sign the petition. To make it
a Constitutional amendment, fifteen (15) percent of voters must sign. Two examples of how the initiative petition has
worked in Oklahoma:
SQ#640 was the result of a 1991-92 grassroots initiative petition movement
of less than a dozen people in the Sooner state. Those dedicated, hardworking Okies were sick
and tired of getting a tax increase every year from the legislature, so they
rolled up their sleeves and did something about it. They collected the necessary signatures to
get the issue on the ballot, educated the electorate about excessive taxation
and government spending. The result was
a Constitutional amendment being approved by a 56-44 margin requiring the
legislature to approve tax increases by a 3/4th majority vote of the
legislature or a direct vote of the people.
Up until two years ago, the Oklahoma legislature had not passed a tax
hike in Oklahoma. SQ#640 has saved
Oklahoma taxpayers billions of dollars and is an example of a positive use of
the initiative petition process. Many of
those who spearheaded SQ#640 have passed to their eternal reward and those left
are now labeled RINOs by the modern grassroots, but that dirty dozen knew true
grassroots politics, how to move the needle and make a positive change.
But not all initiative petitions are good. An example of a bad petition is SQ
780/781. Oklahomans passed SQ#780/781 in
2016 under the pretense (lies) of criminal justice reform. The consequences
of 780/781 has resulted in de-criminalizing and reclassifying former felonies
and a marked increase in crime across the state. The point is Oklahoma’s initiative petition
process can be used for good and bad, but through it all, the process has
worked equally for all citizens.
Raise the Wage Oklahoma (RTWO) is out collecting signatures to get
proposed State Question #832 on the November ballot right now. RTWO has until July 14th to get
92,263 valid voter signatures. SQ#832,
if approved by voters, would raise the minimum wage in the Sooner state to $9 hourly
in 2025 and gradually increase to $15 hourly in 2029. Oklahoma’s current minimum wage is $7.25 an
hour, the same as the federal. Expect to
soon encounter paid solicitors seeking your autograph. Three observations about SQ#832:
First, businesses don’t pay wages- their customers do. Businesses pass their cost (including labor)
onto their customers in the form of a price increase. Raising the minimum wage is a foolish idea
that will feed inflation. Businesses are
not sponges. They don’t ‘absorb’ costs. It is naïve to believe raising the minimum
wage will not result in increases in the price of goods/services to the
consumer.
Second, the vast majority of those receiving minimum wage are young
people. They are often working their
first job. If a business is told they
have to pay a higher wage, they will reduce the number of employees so they stay
within their necessary labor factor percentage.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), President Biden’s
plan to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 would result in 1.4 million
Americans losing their jobs. That is why
Democratic leadership has backed off the proposal.
Third, government should not be telling business what to pay their
employees. Let a free market determine
what wage a person is worth. If a
business is not being fair to their employees, they will have high employee
turnover, and will lose their best and brightest. A good businessperson recognizes their
employee’s worth, pays them accordingly and usually prospers. Penny pinching, cheapskate, money grubbers
rarely succeed in business.
Don’t sign the SQ#832 petition! If it does get on the ballot, don’t vote
for an increased minimum wage. It will hurt
the very people it claims it would help.
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