George --

Steven Stern offers a pretty simplistic view of the "free" market and its impact on wages. He shows once again how the ideology of the "free" market is used to provide cover to those who want to justify the exploitation of low-wage workers. Mr. Stern's view of the Living Wage Campaign is simply misinformed.

It is clear that at the center of Mr. Stern's critique is his hostility to the whole idea of a minimum wage. The "problems" he identifies are unsupported by experience in the real world. To take one example, it is just not true that raising the minimum wage will reduce employment. Following the last raise in the minimum wage, for example, we entered a period of record levels of employment.

Mr. Stern is also incorrect in his critique of the Living Wage Campaign. So far as I am aware, the Living Wage Campaign in Charlottesville does not advocate a sweeping city-mandated increase in all wages. It has instead focused on steps which are completely consistent with market principles. Under any free market system, doesn't the City have the right to decide that it can get better employees if it pays more? Doesn't the City have the ability to ask the companies it hires to do its jobs to pay a minimally decent wage? Any one of us can refuse to shop at McDonald's if we are offended by the low wages being offered there. Can't the City, similarly, refuse to do business with firms who pay inadequate wages?

Mr. Stern's use of the example of his graduate student is pretty ironic. He claims the student lives on $3 an hour and is able to support a wife and child. Is he kidding? I challenge anyone to make up a monthly budget for this student that allows him to pay his bills. In fact, the low pay and general exploitation of graduate students at the University is an open scandal. Applying the principles of Economics 101, as Mr. Stern urges, it sounds more like he is taking advantage of the tight control he and a few others exercise over this particular market (access to a Ph.D.) to get labor from his student at dramatically less than it is worth.

I certainly agree with Mr. Stern's point that education and training are vitally important to getting a good job. But low wages and inadequate job security are harming the quality of life of many of the people of our community. This impact is not limited to teen-agers, but affects working parents and their children. These realities are obvious and are well-understood by everyone, with the possible exception of those with graduate training in economics.

Ed Wayland (electronic mail, July 5, 2001).