In Wednesday's Guest Room (Opinion, "Inside the Living Wage," May 2, 2001), Liz Chimienti and David Unger described the term "living wage" as "synonymous with justice, morality and human rights." Conspicuously absent was any reference to "research," "economics" or "rational thought."


The Cornell Organization for Labor Action (COLA) would like students to believe that a living wage is a simple ideological issue of the rich exploiting the poor. Nevertheless, despite COLA's relentless moral exhibitionism, many economists question the efficacy of living wages in actually helping the most vulnerable members of society, namely minorities and high-school dropouts. COLA's campaign however, stands not on economic reasoning, but on a house of postcards signed by compassionate students who have invested mere seconds in considering this complex issue.


This begs the obvious questions: If a living wage will not help the poor, what will? While certainly not a panacea, education is perhaps our most effective weapon in fighting the long-term causes of poverty. Thus, I find Chimienti and Unger's praise for the paraprofessionals of Ithaca City School District somewhat absurd. These part-time teacher/bus aides, many of who are essentially retired or merely supplementing the income of a spouse, are proposing that Ithaca City School District pay a "living wage." However, even if this living wage could provide a short-term respite from poverty (which is questionable), it would still be financed at the cost of educational materials for the children of Ithaca.

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