Testimony on HB 4160 — Living Wage Ordinance Prohibition
Written Testimony of Michigan Catholic Conference
19 February 2003
House Bill 4160
House Committee on Employment Relations, Training and Safety
Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Paul Long and I am the vice president for public policy with the Michigan Catholic Conference. The Michigan Catholic Conference is the public policy voice for the Catholic Church in this state. I want to thank you for providing this opportunity to offer our reflections on House Bill 4160.
The Michigan Catholic Conference opposes House Bill 4160 for the following reasons:
- Work has a special place in Catholic social thought: it is more than just a job; it is a reflection of our human dignity, and a way to contribute to the common good. Most important, it is the ordinary way people meet their material needs and community obligations.
- In Catholic teaching, the principle of a living wage is integral to our understanding of human work. Wages must be adequate for workers to provide for themselves and their families in dignity.
- A living wage creates purchasing power for goods and services one can buy
- True economic justice requires that employers and governmental units provide reasonable wages so that the basic needs of the working individual can be met.
- It is the MCC’s position that local communities and units of government are the proper place for decisions to be made with respect to living wage requirements and that state government interference in these decisions is improper and violates the spirit of subsidiarity and local control.
Thus we urge members of this committee to vote No on House Bill 4160.
Thank you.
