I’ve always thought the minimum wage topic was really a non-issue. The people that benefit from this discussion are not the minimum wage earners, but the politicians and the political consultants who make it such a big deal.

And it’s because of those folks that I now find this non-issue an interesting subject to talk about.

By now you know that the voters voted to increase the minimum wage in Nebraska. The Unicameral in their infinite wisdom decided the voters didn’t know what they were doing so they modified the voters decision.

The Reader’s Digest version of what went down is that in 2022 voters approved a minimum wage increase to $15.00 an hour by 2026 and then increases tied to the rate of inflation for every year after that.

Then this year the Unicameral changed the will of the people to change the minimum wage increases to 1.75% an hour instead of at the rate of inflation and to lower the minimum wage for minors to $13.50 an hour.

Well after that the cities of Lincoln and Omaha got involved to legislate their own minimum wage ordinance to mirror what the voters voted for and not what the Unicameral pushed through.

Enter Attorney General Mike Hilgers who is suing both cities for listening to their voters. The lawyers will now get involved and tie this up in in court. Making this non-topic busy work for government law-slingers.

Doesn’t the AG’s office have better things to do? Why does Mike Hilgers keep attacking the will of the people? He worked to take away the vote of the medical marijuana voters and now he’s going after the voters who wanted to increase the minimum wage.

Mike Hilgers has bigger political aspirations. Going after Omaha and Lincoln gets his name in the news and it works well for him politically in outstate Nebraska where the two bigger cities aren’t always loved by the rural voters.

Minimum wage jobs are for high school kids starting out. If a student is even somewhat ambitious, they should be able to make substantially more than the minimum wage. I know high school kids that make more than the bare minimum doing jobs like mowing lawns, publishing YouTube channels, or working for tips.

If you are an adult working for minimum wage, it’s either because the hours suit your needs, or you’re doing it part time for extra income.

This may not be the politically correct thing to say, but if you’re an adult and you’re not working those jobs for those reasons, you’re probably lazy, incompetent, or not smart enough to get a better job.

That may come across as harsh, but reality can sometimes be harsh.

Nebraska has bigger problems to worry about than minimum wage. We are currently working with a fiscal deficit. Is it really the best use of taxpayer money to spend government resources tying this up in litigation and working this case all the way up the ladder to the Nebraska Supreme Court?

The other day I went to hear Joclyn Brashear speak. Ms. Brashear is the Democratic Party nominee for Attorney General. She spoke of how the AG’s office shouldn’t be as politicized as it has been under Mike Hilgers reign. She brought up a good point of how he should have challenged President Trump when he demanded to have Nebraska turn over our voting records instead of worrying about things like minimum wage.

The DOJ has sued states that have refused to turn over voter information and so far, 22 of those states plus Washington D.C have had those lawsuits dismissed by the courts.

If Nebraska made the challenge, it probably would have had the lawsuit dismissed as well. Instead, our Attorney General joined 15 other states and bowed down to the administration’s unreasonable demands. According to the Brennan Center for Justice the White House now has your voter registration information, driver’s license and social security numbers thanks to Mike Hilgers. Information any identity thief would love to have.

So much for state’s rights.

While the Attorney General doesn’t have the courage to stand up to the president, he has found the time to sue Omaha and Lincoln over something as trivial as minimum wage.

And because of that, the non-issue becomes a big issue and something to think about when you go to the polls this November.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.