WISH-TV
Do you think Indiana’s minimum wage should go up to $15 an hour? One state senator who thinks so will introduce legislation that would get it there by 2021.
Sen. Frank Mrvan, a Democrat from Hammond, said Friday he’s introducing a bill that would raise Indiana’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour over three years.
“I think that’s definitely a great progressive plan,” said Kristin Kohn, owner of the Silver in the City gift shop, which has locations in Carmel and Indianapolis. “We start people above the minimum wage here and we work at getting them to positions where they have more responsibility.”
The shop owner said that the longer employees stay, the more they earn. “We want them to have, you know, good lives that they can support their families with the wages that they make.”
The state senator said, “No person should work 40 hours a week and not have enough money to feed their children, pay the electricity and pay their cars and everything. It’s really a shame that $7.25 is what we find a man’s wages are worth an hour. It’s ridiculous.”
Mrvan and other Democrats’ previous wage proposals died in the Senate.
“Well, yeah, it’s a long shot,” Mrvan said, “but, at the same time, it is happening in other states. And, as far as I’m concerned, I’ll just keep trying until I drop dead because it has to be something that’s done.”
Critics say increasing wages as much as Mrvan has proposed would hurt small businesses.
Felicia Kiesel, the owner of the downtown Mass Ave women’s boutique Boomerang Boutique, said, “For me personally, I think it might be a little tough, just because I am a small business, not making huge amounts of money.”
“Just because the amount of money going out to pay for payroll would obviously be a lot higher,” Kiesel said, “and it would just take cost away from other things.”
Kiesel said her budget is balanced with just a couple of part-timers.
Indiana’s minimum wage of $7.25 an hour mirrors Kentucky and the federal minimum wage. The other surrounding states — Illinois, Ohio and Michigan — have higher minimum wages.