Table Of ContentThe Case for the Living Wage
THE CASE FOR THE
LIVING WAGE
Jerold L. Waltman
Algora Publishing
New York
© 2004 by Algora Publishing.
All Rights Reserved
www.algora.com
No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by
Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976)
may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the
express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 0-87586-302-7 (softcover)
ISBN: 0-87586-303-5 (hardcover)
ISBN: 0-87586-304-3 (ebook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Waltman, Jerold L., 1945-
The case for the living wage / Jerold Waltman.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-87586-302-7 (softcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-87586-303-5 (hardcov-
er : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-87586-304-3 (ebook)
1. Minimum wage—United States. 2. Minimum wage—Great Britain.
I. Title.
HD4918.W264 2004
331.2'3'0973—dc22
2004012894
Living Wage: Hardworking cart collector
© Markku Lahdesmaki/CORBIS
Photographer: Markku Lahdesmaki
Date Photographed: July 17, 2001
Printed in the United States
Dedicated to the Memory of Monsignor John A. Ryan (1869-1945)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
One of the most pleasant, and humbling, aspects of writing a book is
reflecting back on all the help you have received. Perhaps my greatest debt is to
the Aubrey Lucas Faculty Development Fund at the University of Southern
Mississippi. It provided invaluable resources for travel to Australia and Britain
during the early stages of the research. The librarians at the University of
Southern Mississippi responded to my continual requests for information with
their usual efficiency and good humor. About halfway through this project I
moved to Baylor University. No academic could ask for a more congenial and
lively environment, nor for a better library staff to work with. A special word of
thanks must go to the people in the interlibrary loan department, who tracked
down many obscure works. Jenice Langston, the Administrative Assistant in the
Department of Political Science, and Paul Deng, my graduate assistant, went far
above the call of duty in preparing the figures and tables.
I was graciously hosted during a trip to Australia by Ian Watson, Ron
Callus, John Buchanan, Merilyn Bryce, Linda Cowen, and the entire staff of the
University of Sydney's Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and
Training. The holdings in their library were second only to the quality of the
conversations I was privileged to have there. I have also accumulated many
debts in Britain. Victor Patterson of the Department of Trade and Industry has
ably instructed me in many features of the minimum wage. Bharti Patel, Jeff
Masters, and Tim Bickerstaffe of the now defunct Low Pay Unit were a
continual source of help and encouragement. Deborah Littman of Unison
provided both insight and aid at several critical points. Donley Studlar,
Executive Secretary of the British Politics Group, helped point me to some
polling data.
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The Case for the Living Wage
I am always pleasantly surprised by how much academics are willing to
help each other. As but one special example, I e-mailed Martin Evans of the
University of Bath, whom I have never met, about some technical data. He wrote
an immediate and lengthy response, and pointed me toward some additional
information as well.
I also want to thank Martin De Mers of Algora Publishing for his faith in
the project, his suggestions for additional material, and his kind patience with
my missed delivery dates. The entire editorial staff has shepherded this
manuscript through the production phase with remarkable craftsmanship.
The book is better because of all these people. Of course, none of them
bears any responsibility for the interpretations I have made of the information
and help they have provided.
My wife Diane has listened to many ruminations on the living wage. Her
belief in the project never flagged, and I am grateful for her patience during the
many times I was preoccupied and/or absent.
A final word about the man to whom the book is dedicated, Monsignor
John A. Ryan (1869-1945). His 1906 book The Living Wage: Its Ethical and
Economic Aspects was the first to put the case for a living wage. Throughout his
distinguished career, he remained committed to it as a necessary centerpiece of
any progressive program of economic reform. In a sense, then, this book is a
near-centennial tribute to his pioneering efforts. My hope is that if someone
publishes a book on the living wage at the beginning of the next century, it will
be a historical account of how it was adopted.
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