Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Living wage law takes effect

Minimum wage workers employed by contractors working on state projects will benefit from the living wage law that went into effect Monday: in the Baltimore-Washington area, they'll now earn at least $11.30/hour. In rural areas, the minimum is set at $8.50/hour.

The Going to the Mat blog noted yesterday one of the foreseeable effects of the $2.80-per-hour difference between rural areas and cities: jobs in urban areas will be more appealing.

And you know what that means.

More traffic (and development) in Baltimore and Washington, as workers from the outlying areas commute in to a higher-paying job.

Do you think that'll truly happen?

Is there a solution out there that could address city workers' higher cost of living without this side effect?

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

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