Mitt Romney should have voted to raise the minimum wage. Here’s why:
I was forced to move away from Utah thanks to it’s unlivable minimum wage. I was raised my whole life in Logan, a Utahn born and bred. I love the nature in the state, I love the small towns, I even love the Mormons. I especially love my family, many of whom still reside in Utah.
However, I faced a problem. As much as I love living with my parents, I’m old enough now (nearing 30) that I desperately wanted my own place. Crazy dream, I know. Try as I might, especially in Logan with the university, there are no places in Utah you can rent for a reasonable percentage of your income when your income is on the lower end of the spectrum.
“Get a better job,” I’m sure people are saying. I did, but the best place to find a better job that pays more than poverty wages is outside of Utah. I moved to Illinois, where my rent is the same and I now make $20 an hour and live substantially more comfortably. My new higher income pays several thousand dollars in Illinois taxes, I generated who knows how much consumer activity with my expanded purchases, I contributed towards land value by driving up demand in rents that I could actually afford, and my presence in the state adds towards their numbers in the House of Representatives.
I found a better job, but I had to leave my state behind. I didn’t want to, but I did what I had to do. It felt like my Utah was telling me to take my money elsewhere, so I did. It is a market after all. But that’s no way to run a successful business.
Raise your minimum wage to a livable wage, Utah, and I will move back with my money. Make Utah livable for those with lower incomes and larger families. Otherwise, I will continue to shop at your competitors and you will lose out on all my money.
Taylor Costel, Illinois
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