Candidate for Kansas governor proposes bill to raise minimum wage

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Senator Cindy Holscher, a candidate for governor in Kansas, has proposed a bill to raise minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $16 an hour in the state.

The bill is in the senate’s Committee on Commerce -- if signed into law, the bill would bring Kansas in line with many other states that have raised minimum wage.

According to Wichita State’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research, the change would affect less than a quarter of Kansas’ population.

As of now, just 22 percent of Kansans make less than $16 per hour -- and only 2 percent of the population makes less than $10 an hour.

“I think that is a player idea, man -- I’d go get a job if it went up to 16 dollars an hour, you know what I mean,” said Ryan Riffle, who’s currently unemployed. “Anything’s worth that, any job that you don’t even like is worth 16 dollars an hour.”

“I think it’s great, (it) really helps the people who are looking for a job,” Wichitan Jerome Afe said.

Still, there are some lingering concerns. Among them is that the increase could raise prices for goods in Kansas.

“The fear is as you increase those wages what we’re going to end up having is increased demand for goods and services which can drive up those prices,” said Bekah Selby-Leach, director of CEDBR.

“This is what we call a price or inflation spiral. But because it’s only about 22 percent of the population that could be affected and only a few of them are on a very small end of that I don’t think that we would have the critical mass to get to that outcome.”

Another concern is a wage increase wiping out small businesses that can’t afford to pay their employees.

So what’s the benefit of raising the minimum wage? Selby-Leach said it could help Kansas better compete with neighboring states.

“It doesn’t look like we pay well in this state, even though most people don’t make $7.25,” she said. “It could create a reputational change where Kansas looks like these other states that are increasing their wages to have a better quality of life.”