Yesterday I blogged about a newly organized group of Orange County residents that want local officials to address affordable housing and “living” wages so that low- and middle-income families can afford to work and live in the county. Noble intent, but they’re advocating for the wrong policy solutions, as I describe here.
This News & Observer story details the group’s desire, not for a “living wage” but for a “housing wage” of $15.31 per hour. Based on a 40-hour work week, that’s roughly $32,000 per year. If this comes to pass for Orange County government, it would require a 50 percent increase in the current “living wage” standard of $10.12 per hour.
Both Carrboro and Orange County governments now have “living wages” that guarantee their employees a minimum salary equal to the poverty level for a family of four, adjusted for the cost of living in the Raleigh-Durham area. In Orange County, the living wage for a county worker is $10.12 an hour.
Chapel Hill does not have a living wage ordinance. The town eliminated its lowest pay grades several years ago, however, and the lowest current pay grade starts at $11.27 an hour, according to the town’s human resources department.
