IP
3A
NEWaUic Ctarlstte
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Wage hike a contentious subject
PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON
Nakia McLendon, a contract
barber at No Grease Barber
Shop in Charlotte, says rais
ing the minimum wage will
help North Carolinians.
Continued from page 1A
businesses suffer when work
ers can’t afford goods and ser
vices.
‘Tm trying to make them
understand it’s a business
move,” he said. “The state
has always had a strong pro
gressive streak. If you’re
working hard, the door ought
Patti
does
Apollo
Continued from page 2A
diabetes doohicky spokes
woman) Patti LaBeUe’s
appearance at the CIAA bas
ketball tournament are mov
ing faster than the law
allows. Miss Thang is head
lining “Showtime At the
ApoUo” March 2 at the
Convention Center, but the
best part will likely be the
amateur competition.
Contestants from the 12
CIAA schools will show off
their talents, which ought to
be good for a few laughs.
Tickets are $37 for grown
folks, students $25. Fly gets
in free, unless a pest strip
somehow becomes a distrac
tion. Proceeds going to a
scholarship fund.
• Dave Chappelle may or
may not be coming to
Charlotte Monday for a
sneak peak of his movie.
Fly knows Chappelle is
fimny, but is he really crazy?
Even Fly watched Oprah and
thought somebody had eaten
the wrong brownies before
sitting across from O.
The people running the
screening made sure that
everybody knew that they
have no more control of Dave
than Comedy Central, so if he
rolls up, theyll be just as sur
prised as everybody else,
Here’s hoping he doesn’t yeU
out Tm Rick James” during
the screening.
to be cracked so you can at
least have a
chance at
opportunity.”
Business
owners, of
course, are
skeptical. The
National
Federation of Moore
Independent
Business, a Washington-
based lobbyist group, oppos
es a hike as “devastating” to
N.C. job growth.
“When the minimum wage
goes up, small and seasonal
firms feel a bigger pinch
than large ones,” NFIB’s
Research Foundation argues
on the organization’s web
site. “Additionally, wage lev
els take higher priority when
a region, industry, season
and local labor market condi
tions influence the number
of workers in minimum-
wage jobs.”
The Charlotte Chamber of
Commerce hasn’t staked a
position on the issue, spokes
woman Blrica Johnson said.
Damian Johnson, who co
owns No Grease Barber
Shop with brother Jermaine,
said the proposed increase
would be a good gesture, but
it isn’t something African
Johnson
Americans view as an
enhancement
to their quali
ty of life.
“Any com
munity that
has to depend
on minimum
wage is des
tined to fail,”
Johnson said.
‘T don’t think it would make
any difference.”
Johnson believes the
increase could offer some
short-term quality of life
benefit for workers moving
toward better paying jobs,
but doesn’t see it as an eco
nomic solution.
‘If it’s an alternate for a
process that’s fine, but we
can’t depend on that to paci
fy us,” he said.
Nakia McLendon, a con
tractual barber at No
Grease, thinks the increase
would be a rehef to low wage
earners.
“It would be a great help,
at $5.15 especially with the
way gas is, that’s not enough
money to live on,” he said.
“Working for minimum wage
is degrading to a certain
extent, I know for people
who are trying to raise a
family that’s not enough. If
they are raising minimum
wage and not going to raise
the taxes then that would
help.”
That’s what Moore, a possi
ble candidate for governor in
2008, is pushing In addition
to higher wages, he backs an
earned income tax credit for
heads of households that
would lessen the tax burden
for the working poor.
“We as taxpayers are
already paying,” for social
programs that benefit the
poorest North Carolinians,
Moore said. ‘T don’t think we
should subsidize people who
should be paying more.”
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