Despite being coupled with a tax cut package, a proposed raise in the federally mandated minimum wage has stalled in the Senate, The Associated Press reported Tuesday. The bill, proposed by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) would raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $5.75 an hour this year, then to $6.25 next year and $6.65 in 2004. Opposition from business lobbyists including the National Federation of Independent Business and the National Restaurant Association has helped to stall the bill's passage.

The last time the federal government raised the minimum wage was in1997, when it went from $4.75 an hour to $5.15. And in real terms, the wage is currently less than what it was 40 years ago when adjusted for inflation. Families and individuals who live at the lowest level of the socioeconomic ladder have been hard pressed to make ends meet with the current minimum wage.

That the Senate has thus far been unsuccessful in passing this bill constitutes a failure on its part to the people who need the money that this wage increase would provide. The Senate should make every effort to pass the bill before the year is out.

Areas where this type of legislation has been effective include our very own Ann Arbor, whose city council voted to pass a living wage ordinance in March 2001. The Ann Arbor ordinance provides that any employee working on city contracts or grants is guaranteed an hourly wage of at least $8.70 an hour if health benefits are included and at least $10.20 an hour without health benefits.

While the proposed raise in the minimum wage is a progressive step, the examples set by Ann Arbor and other municipalities that have passed living wage ordinances indicates that it is not enough. The federal government should be doing more, in line with Ann Arbor and beyond, to provide for the basic needs of poor people across the country - failing to act on the modest proposal of this bill calls into question the degree to which the federal government actually has concern for the poor.

It is important to recognize that raising the minimum wage by $1.50 over the course of two years would not be a panacea for the financial problems American workers in low-paying jobs experience. Still, the passage of this bill would provide a small boost for American workers that in turn will put more money into the pockets of consumers.