Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is proposing a plan to raise state employee pay by 3% and set a minimum hourly wage of $15 an hour for state workers.
The proposal, called the Arkansas Forward Initiative, would also raise the maximum pay for workers by 10%.
"State government is only as efficient and effective as the people who staff it," Sanders wrote in a letter to state workers. "I believe this plan strikes the balance between spending Arkansans' tax dollars wisely, increasing competitiveness, and rewarding our best state employees. I look forward to the legislature's speedy review and approval of these proposals."
We have no quarrel with the governor's plan. But we do wonder about other Arkansas workers. Those who fund the various levels of government with their state income taxes, property taxes, personal property taxes, sales taxes and other assorted levies. State law sets their minimum wage at $11 per hour,
Will the governor and elected officials support a $15 minimum wage for all Arkansans?
We want to know what you think. Do you support a $15 minimum wage for state employees while the minimum for other workers in the state is lower? Should the state's minimum wage be raised to $15 for all workers? Or do you think state workers should have the same $11 minimum wage as other workers?
Send your response (50 words maximum) to [email protected] by Wednesday, March 13. You can also mail your response to the Texarkana Gazette Friday Poll, at P.O. Box 621, Texarkana, TX 75504 or drop it off at our office, 101 E. Broad St, Texarkana, Ark. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. We will print as many responses as we can in next Friday's paper.
Last Week: Buy American, Get Paid?
Last week's question was about a proposal to give Americans a tax credit for buying good made in the U.S. Do you support a tax credit for buying American goods? Do you think it would spur manufacturing and create good-paying jobs?
This sounds great, however congress appears not to be able to pass anything but hot air, since the GOP have become the majority. No, I don't think it would increase manufacturing and states like Texas still want to pay minimum wage. -- R.K., Texarkana, Texas