AUGUST 2014

BACK ON TRACKCONWAY’S ARKANSAS SPINE AND PAIN

HELPS PATIENTS ‘GET THEIR LIVES BACK’

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat2D — Sunday, August 10, 2014

The Central Landing retail development now underway in Conway, Ar-kansas, has added a well-established name as a key anchor for the de-velopment’s first phase. Will Wilson, President of Jim Wilson & Associates, LLC and the company’s partner, the Conway De-velopment Corporation, announced the comple-tion of a letter of intent with Dillard’s, Inc. (DDS: NYSE) to become part of the Central Landing de-velopment.

The Arkansas-based retail giant will become an anchor for the devel-opment’s first phase. Dil-lard’s, Inc. ranks among the nation’s largest fash-ion apparel and home fur-nishings retailers with annual revenues exceed-ing $6.6 billion.

“Adding the commit-ment of Dillard’s to the retail segment of Central Landing speaks volumes about the positive retail future of this excellent site in Conway, Arkansas,” Wilson said. “Dillard’s, well known to everyone in Arkansas, will bring an exciting, state-of-the-art store to this exceptional, growing and vibrant mar-ket, only a short distance from its Little Rock corpo-rate office.”

Bill Dillard II, CEO of Dillard’s Inc., add-ed, “We are happy to an-nounce our commitment to Central Landing, add-ing a ninth location to

our home state of Arkan-sas. Conway is an estab-lished community and we look forward to serving this growing market that already knows Dillard’s as the hometown fashion destination.” The new Dil-lard’s at Central Land-ing is planned at 100,000 square feet and will fea-ture the company’s latest advances in store design and construction.

The new shopping and dining destination locat-ed in the center of Con-way will begin the trans-formation of the current airport site into a multi-use development that will serve Faulkner County, which is already recog-nized nationally as one of America’s fastest growing counties for population and job growth.

Central Landing is a 150-acre planned develop-ment featuring, in phase 1, the 250,000 square foot life style center, the Shoppes at Central Land-ing, anchored by Dillard’s department store and to be joined by over forty (40) specialty stores and res-taurants. Following the retail phase, the develop-ment also includes plans for hotels, office buildings, single family residential and apartment homes.

The Central Land-ing project kicks off with the successful approval of the bond issue slated for a September 9, 2014, special election. Once ap-proved, the timetable for

the commencement of construction begins with the improvements out-lined in the roadway bond issue.

“Located in the heart of Conway, Arkansas, Central Landing will be an important segment of the continued economic growth and development of the city,” Wilson said.

Dillard’s, Inc. was founded by William T. Dil-lard in 1938 in Nashville, Arkansas on an $8,000 in-vestment in a hometown department store. To-day, Dillard’s, Inc. ranks among the nation’s larg-est fashion apparel and home furnishings retail-ers with annual revenues exceeding $6.6 billion. The company operates 278 Dillard’s locations and 18 clearance cen-ters spanning 29 states as well as CDI Contrac-tors, LLC, one of Arkan-sas’ largest general con-tractors specializing in commercial construction projects including retail centers. Dillard’s focuses on delivering maximum fashion and value to its shoppers by offering com-pelling apparel and home selections complement-ed by exceptional custom-er care. Dillard’s stores offer a broad selection of merchandise and fea-ture products from both national and exclusive brand sources. For more information about Dil-lard’s, please visit www.dillards.com.

Dillard’s to anchor Central Landing

TOP RESIDENTIAL HOME SALES, juLy

PRICE ............ ADDRESS ..................... BED/BATH ..SUBDIVISION ............... SQFT ...... $/SQFT ......BUILT$440,000 .........4550 Sawgrass Cove .......5/3.5 ...............Centennial Valley .............. 4,075 ........$107.98 .......2002$367,439 .........835 Burrow Avenue ........3/2.5 ...............The Village at Hendrix ..... 2,101 ........$174.89 .......2013$363,950 .........5145 Bay Town Drive ......4/3 ...................Fairways at Centennial ... 3,045 ........$119.52 .......2011$345,000 .........1810 Centennial Club ....4/4 ...................Centennial Valley .............. 3,252 ........$106.09 .......2000$305,000 .........2735 Glohaven .................5/4 ...................Cresthaven .......................... 3,377 ........$90.46 ..........2006$300,000 .........10 Eagle Shore..................3/2 ...................Eagle Shore ......................... 2,344 ........$127.99 .......1994

The Conway Area Chamber of Commerce invites area businesses to participate in the 2014 Business Expo. The day-long event will take place Thursday, Oct. 9, at the Conway Expo Center and Fairgrounds. Southwest-ern Energy is the pre-senting sponsor.

Business Expo com-prises a breakfast, a busi-ness-to-business trade show, lunch presenta-tions and Taste of Con-way. Mary Margaret Sat-terfield, director of Toad Suck Daze and events at the Conway Area Cham-ber of Commerce, said this setup provides busi-nesses with varied oppor-tunities to network with other professionals and exhibit their products and services to a diverse and captive audience.

“Business Expo’s mul-tifaceted approach sets it apart from other expos in the central Arkansas area,” Satterfield said. “First, the Business Expo Breakfast is attended by more than 150 represen-tatives from Conway’s business community, in-cluding many decision makers. Second, the trade show provides exhibitors with both immediate and deferred sales opportuni-ties and business-to-busi-ness networking. Finally, Taste of Conway attracts more than 500 potential customers to Business Expo. We anticipate ap-proximately 1,000 peo-ple will come to the Expo Center for Business Expo

throughout the day.”Business Expo kicks

off at 8 a.m. with the Business Expo Break-fast, sponsored by Con-way Corporation. The breakfast has been part of Business Expo since 2010 and traditional-ly has served as an occa-sion for the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce to announce substantial eco-nomic development and community initiatives, in-cluding Conway2025, the design of the Interstate 40 corridor, a partner-ship with local nonprofit Arkansas Preschool Plus, and the Central Landing development.

This year, break-fast attendees will hear an update on the Con-way2025 strategic plan, which launched five years ago in 2009. Tick-ets are required to attend the breakfast and can be purchased online for $10.

The Business Expo and Retail Showcase, a business-to-business trade show, begins at 9 a.m. and lasts until 7 p.m. Product demonstra-tions, business-to-busi-ness networking, and the actual selling of products and services – all done on the Expo floor – can ul-timately increase sales and sales leads for exhib-itors. The public can at-tend the trade show at no cost. For $5, Expo attend-ees can take advantage of an on-site lunch and sit in on one of two infor-mative presentations.

This year’s theme is “The Greatest Expo on Earth.” The Chamber en-courages participating businesses to incorporate a circus theme into their exhibits.

Taste of Conway gives the community the chance to sample some of the best food Conway has

to offer. The event takes place from 5-7 p.m. on the floor of Business Expo, giving food service provid-ers the opportunity to get in front of more than 500 company representatives and community mem-bers. Restaurants, cater-ers, food and drink dis-tributors, and other food service providers that are members of the Chamber are eligible to participate in Taste of Conway at no cost. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online.

Sponsorships and booth space are avail-able for the 2014 Busi-ness Expo and Taste of Conway. Booth space be-gins at $300 for Cham-ber-member businesses and $500 for nonmem-bers. Contact the Cham-ber at 501-327-7788 or visit ConwayChamber.org to learn more about sponsorship and exhibi-tion opportunities.

Faulkner County Business Journal Sunday, August 10, 2014 — 3D Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

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BJOIN THE FUN ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9 CONWAY EXPO CENTER & FAIRGROUNDS

Finding the time to network with other professionals, promote your business, and attract and retain new customers is a juggling act. Find balance at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Expo, where you can gain a competitive advantage while developing new relationships – all under one roof!

To register or for more info: ConwayChamber.org | 501-327-7788

#ConwayBusinessExpo

REGISTER AT CONWAYCHAMBER.ORG BY TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30.

Presented by

Sponsorships, booth space available for Business Expo, Taste of Conway

The need for a new municipal airport in Conway was first iden-tified in the 1975 Con-way Municipal Air-port Master Plan Study, which recognized that the existing Cantrell Field was adequate for most propeller aircraft but not for business jets or the larger, executive-type general aviation aircraft.

Full disclosure—we lifted that opening sen-tence word-for-word from a 2008 FAA envi-ronmental document. It was one of the many documents we went through as we taxied down memory lane. For-give us for feeling nos-talgic as our communi-ty prepares to open a new Cantrell Field in Lollie Bottoms. But this project has been a long time coming and it has truly taken a village of engineers, politicians, public officials, aviation professionals and many, many dedicated volun-teers and neighbors.

On September 5th when planes officially land at the new airport it will be the first time many Conway residents will have ever laid eyes on the site. What will they see? A fantastic new terminal building for starters. The new terminal has first class meeting space and will make a great first im-pression on anyone

who flies to Conway. They will see a 5,500 foot long runway that is capable of safely han-dling any and all of the aircraft that current-ly have a reason to visit Conway. They’ll see new hangars and a natural setting that’s downright peaceful.

What they won’t see is a finished air-port. And that’s a good thing. Because growing communities are nev-er finished building and improving their infra-structure. This airport is ready to open. But this airport is also pre-pared to grow.

The runway could be extended to 6,000 feet in the near future. There are future phases of hangar construction and room for more cor-porate tenants. Some of that work will very vis-ible if you venture out to the airport in the next few months. The new location also comes with real estate avail-able for aviation related businesses and indus-tries that will one day create new jobs for our community.

The work that so many have put into this project finally have the new Conway air-port “cleared for land-ing.” And the thought-ful preparations that have gone into that pro-cess have it “prepared for takeoff.”

EDITORIAL

A long time coming

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat4D — Sunday, August 10, 2014

COVER STORY

Arkansas Spine and Pain opens full-time clinic in Conway

An established central-Ar-kansas clinic specializing in pain management will soon have a full-time practice in Con-way. Arkansas Spine and Pain (ASAP) diagnoses, treats and rehabilitates patients suffering from chronic pain and sports-related injuries. The Conway lo-cation opened in October 2013 as a satellite clinic and saw pa-tients based on appointment. Beginning this August, the clinic will operate during nor-mal business hours Monday through Thursday at 1080 Pat’s Lane.

Krishnappa Prasad, M.D., is the physician for the Con-way clinic. Dr. Prasad received his medical degree from Banga-lore Medical College and com-pleted his residencies in In-ternal Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at New York Medical College. He and the other physicians on staff provide various methods of pain control that will restore patients’ ability to live an active lifestyle at work and home.

“Chronic pain can have a de-bilitating effect on your life,” Dr. Prasad said. “Our clinic pro-vides various methods of pain control that are quick and rela-tively painless.”

Arkansas Spine and Pain specializes in the treatment of chronic pain. Unlike acute pain, which is related to an injury or illness and lessens natural-ly during the healing process, chronic pain is an ongoing con-dition that may be part of a pa-tient’s daily life.

“Our office has the ability to take care of most chronic pain situations,” said Dr. Prasad. “While the majority of the pa-tients we see have pain that is neck-related and low-back-re-lated, we also treat pain from post-traumatic injuries, sports injuries and a variety of arthrit-ic conditions, including pain in the facet joints, knee joints and shoulder joints. Basically, we treat any kind of pain in the body.”

Arkansas Spine and Pain spe-cializes in interventional pain management and minimally in-vasive spine procedures. Pain management specialists man-age chronic, post-operative pain as well as pain from disease, in-jury and painful conditions. Pa-tients experiencing pain result-

ing from sports injuries, motor vehicle accidents, work-related injuries, failed back surgery and cancer are ideal candidates for pain management and rehabili-tation. The physicians also treat pain resulting from fibromyal-gia, headaches and migraines, neuralgia, inflammation, and a host of other conditions.

Methods used to treat the pain range from steroid injec-tions and nerve blocks to acu-puncture and Botox. “Most no-tably, we do spinal disorders and perform interventions in terms of epidurals to treat disk bulges and other conditions,” Dr. Prasad said. “We also block nerves to treat nerve pain that originates in the back of the leg and perform smaller nerve blocks to treat pain from arthri-

tis. We can burn those nerves to give relief for eight months to a year.”

Physicians at Arkansas Spine and Pain are trained in advanced procedures such as Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) in-jections to treat injuries and promote the healing of bones and soft tissue. Notable ath-letes have turned to PRP injec-tions as a quick, non-invasive alternative to surgery. PRP in-jections use platelets from the patient’s own blood to rebuild injured tendons or ligaments, which accelerates the healing process.

“PRP injections are the lat-est method to treat a variety of conditions that cannot be treat-ed with surgery or with med-ication,” Dr. Prasad said. “For

example, a rotator cuff injury of the shoulder cannot be op-erated on, but it can be inject-ed with PRP. Furthermore, pa-tients with a certain type of arthritis may not be candidates for surgery. If medications or steroid injections are not help-ing, the next best thing is to do a PRP injection.”

Chronic pain is a complex medical condition that can have emotional, psychological and so-cial consequences. For this rea-son, Arkansas Spine and Pain has a multi-disciplinary team of pain management specialists that includes board-certified physicians, a board-certified an-esthesiologist, clinical psychol-ogists, an advanced practice nurse and other medical pro-fessionals. Pain management specialists are licensed medical professionals trained in a vari-ety of specialties who use vari-ous approaches to prevent, eval-uate and treat acute or chronic pain disorders.

Arkansas Spine and Pain’s main clinic is located in Lit-tle Rock with satellite clinics in Conway, Benton, Jacksonville, North Little Rock and Warren. Dr. Prasad encourages those suffering from chronic pain to talk to their primary care physi-cian about being referred to Ar-kansas Spine and Pain. “Come to our office. We take care of all kinds of pain situations to give you a painless future.”

To learn more about Arkan-sas Spine and Pain, visit Ar-kansasSpineAndPain.com or call 501-227-0184.

Pain management sPecialists helP Patients ‘get their lives back’

Faulkner County Business Journal To subscribe call (501) 329-2927 • Log Cabin Democrat6D — Sunday, August 10, 2014

Lindsay Henderson, senior vice president of Chamber operations at the Conway Area Cham-ber of Commerce, and Mary Margaret Satter-field, director of Toad Suck Daze and events, received the IOM grad-uate recognition in July from the Institute for Organization Manage-ment.

Institute is a four-year professional devel-opment program of the U.S. Chamber of Com-merce Foundation. As graduates of Institute, both Henderson and Satterfield have com-pleted 96 hours of course instruction in nonprofit management.

The curriculum con-sists of four weeklong sessions offered annual-ly at five locations across the country. Participants learn from university professors, industry ex-

perts and leading prac-titioners in the chamber and association indus-tries. Course topics in-clude advocacy, mem-bership, media training, finance, legal issues, hu-man resources and other facets of running a non-profit organization.

“Obtaining my IOM

has afforded me many learning opportunities as a Chamber profes-sional,” Henderson said. “I have been fortunate to gain insight from Cham-bers of all sizes and from all parts of the country. I will carry these best practices throughout my career.”

Satterfield said at-tending Institute and obtaining her IOM was beneficial to her profes-sional growth, both in-side and outside the classroom. “I learned valuable information about nonprofit man-agement and Cham-ber practices through the classroom setting. In addition, I picked up many ideas and practi-cal application from the friends and classmates I made during the four years of the program.”

Lindsay Hender-son and Mary Marga-ret Satterfield join Con-way Area Chamber colleagues Brad Lacy, president and CEO, and Laura Grimes, chief fi-nancial officer, in earn-ing the IOM graduate recognition. For more in-formation about the pro-gram, visit Institute.US-Chamber.com.

Chamber employees earn IOM recognitionUnemployment Rate

JuneSeasonally Adjusted

US ................................................... 6.1%Arkansas....................................... 6.2%

Not Seasonally AdjustedUS ................................................... 6.3%Arkansas....................................... 6.5%Faulkner County ...................... 5.9%Conway ........................................ 5.9%

Sales Tax CollectionsConway*

May2014 ................................... $2,122,6102013 ................................... $2,009,749Percent Change 5.6%

Year to Date (May)2014 ................................... $9,345,8132013 ................................... $9,557,087Percent Change -2.2%

Annual2013 .................................$23,235,8912012 .................................$22,944,163Percent Change 1.3%*Tax Rate 1.75%

Faulkner County*May

2014 .......................................$781,7852013 .......................................$744,590Percent Change 5.0%

Year to Date (May)2014 ................................... $3,487,2612013 ................................... $3,520,519Percent Change -0.9%

Annual2013 ................................... $8,588,8352012 ................................... $8,465,686Percent Change 1.5%*Tax Rate 0.5%

Restaurant Sales*May

2014 .................................$15,433,7942013 .................................$14,451,246Percent Change 6.8%

Year to Date (May)2014 .................................$72,401,2742013 .................................$68,895,474Percent Change % 5.1

Annual Sales 2013 .............................. $164,989,5862012 .............................. $161,318,563Percent Change 2.3%*Including mixed drink sales

Hotel SalesMay

2014 ................................... $2,248,5962013 ................................... $2,096,535Percent Change 7.3%

Year to Date (May)2014 ................................... $8,213,3152013 ................................... $8,003,757Percent Change 2.6%

Annual Sales2013 .................................$18,556,9112012 .................................$18,683,676Percent Change -0.7%

Conway Building Permits

Single Family HomesYear to Date (July)

2014 .................................... 73 Permits2013 .................................... 90 PermitsPercent Change -18.9%

Annual2013 ..................................147 Permits2012 ..................................186 Permits 2011 ..................................153 PermitsPercent Change 2013-2012 -21.0%

Average Construction Cost*

Annual2013 .......................................$228,2752012 .......................................$207,5372011 ...................................... $204,387Percent Change 2013-2012 10.0%*Not including land or lot im-provements

Average Square Footage*Annual2013 .............................................. 3,0022012 .............................................. 2,9102011 .............................................. 2,814Percent Change 2013-2012 3.2%

Average Construction Cost Per Square Foot*

Annual2013 ............................................$76.042012 ............................................$71.332011 ............................................$72.64Percent Change 2013-2012 6.6%%* Total under roof

Lottery SalesFaulkner County

July2014 ................................... $1,057,8142013 ................................... $1,126,010Percent Change -6.1%

Year to Date (July)2014 ................................... $8,570,8182013 ................................... $9,736,631Percent Change -12.0%

Annual2013 .................................$17,038,2772012 .................................$16,943,909Percent Change .06%

Total StateJuly2014 .................................$30,630,2112013 .................................$32,483,166Percent Change -5.7%

Year to Date (July)2014 .............................. $242,573,2712013 .............................. $266,770,723Percent Change -9.1%

Annual 2013 .............................. $432,932,7992012 ............................. $452,245,215Percent Change -4.3%

Natural GasSeverance Tax

DistributionConway

Year to Date (July)2014 .......................................$208,5942013 .......................................$157,494Percent Change 32.4%

Annual2013 .......................................$276,5232012 .......................................$162,457Percent Change 70.2%

Faulkner CountyYear to Date (July)

2014 .......................................$169,8292013 .......................................$127,818Percent Change 32.9%

Annual2013 .......................................$224,4552012 .......................................$131,418Percent Change 70.8%

Information provided by pulseofconway.com

EconomyGlance

Sidney Moncrief, an Arkansas native and re-tired professional bas-ketball player, will be the keynote speaker at the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce’s Minority Enterprise Development awards gala. The event will take place Thursday, Sept. 18, at 6:30 p.m. in McCastlain Hall on the University of Central Ar-kansas campus.

Moncrief is a five-time NBA All-Star, five-time member of the NBA All-Defensive team, a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and an NBA All-Pro. He is

also a former head coach for a college bas-ketball team and a

former assistant coach in the NBA.

Off the court, Mon-crief served on the board of directors for a For-tune 500 company and as president of various auto sales businesses. He is the author of five books: “Sidney Moncrief: My Journey to the NBA,”

“Your Passport to Rein-venting You,” “Your Pass-port to Becoming a Valu-able Team Player,” “Your Passport to Back2Basics Leadership,” and “Your Passport to Manhood.”

Moncrief is a present-er through his compa-ny, Moncrief One Team. It specializes in personal and professional devel-opment of individuals, teams and organizations by providing team en-hancement, career read-iness, consulting and coaching.

The MED awards gala is an opportunity to cele-brate the achievements

of minority entrepre-neurs and the individ-uals and organizations committed to advancing minority-owned busi-nesses. The nomination process for the five cat-egories of awards has ended, and the recipi-ents will be announced prior to the event.

Limited tables are available for the MED awards gala. Those in-terested in attending should visit Conway-Chamber.org or contact Whitney Cummings, di-rector of events, at 501-932-5411 or Whitney@ConwayArkansas.org.

Sidney Moncrief to speak at awards gala

Moncrief

Faulkner County Business Journal Sunday, August 10, 2014 — 7D Log Cabin Democrat • Find our online edition at www.thecabin.net

By RogeR Lewis

Henry Ford in 1913 raised wages from about $2.25 to $5 per day, in-cluding bonuses, for a nine-hour shift. The $2.25 was a fair wage at that time and would be equiv-alent to $54 today. The $5 wage would be equivalent to $120 or approximate-ly $13.33 per hour. There was no federal-mandated minimum wages at that time; wages were mar-ket driven. But why raise wages to $5, well above the market? The argu-ment set forth by many was so that Ford’s work-ers could afford to buy a Model T – which sold for around $500 – and boost sales. The raise in pay cost Ford about $9 million a year in additional salary costs for 14,000 workers. If every worker bought a new car, it would gen-erate about $7 million in sales. Not all of the work-ers would buy a new car, and certainly not every year, but the cost of a sala-ry increase continues each year. It is not a good busi-ness strategy to increase your labor cost $9 million a year to raise sales less than $7 million over sev-eral years. So why raise salaries that much?

Ford’s turnover rate was very high. In 1913, the company hired more than 52,000 men to keep a workforce of only 14,000. Many of the jobs where monotonous, and workers simply quit and walked off. The assembly line often stopped, halting production of cars. It was costly to recruit and train

workers. The increased cost and delayed produc-tion kept Ford from sell-ing his cars at the low price he wanted. Drastic measures were necessary if he was to keep up this production and lower the cost. Paying $5 per day was the major solution, and the price of the Mod-el T continued to drop. By 1927, the last year of its production, the Model T’s basic model sold for $260. Fifteen million Model T’s where produced.

In 1938, President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) that banned op-pressive child labor and set the minimum hourly wage at 25 cents and the maximum workweek at 44 hours. The act applied to industries whose com-bined employment rep-resented only about one-fifth of the labor force. It applied generally to em-ployees in the production of goods and products for interstate commerce. It was not applicable to many small local busi-nesses. Of course, this act was not without a lot of controversy and has had far-reaching implications. The minimum wage was increased periodically and reached one dollar an hour in 1956. By 1978, it was $2.65 and covered many more workers. Af-ter years of amending the Act, the minimum wage was set in 2009 at $7.25 per hour for a 40-hour week; time-and-a-half pay is given for hours worked beyond that. Today, the minimum wage remains at $7.25 and covers near-

ly all hourly workers.

Falling behindThe chart illustrates

that since 1983, the min-imum wage has not kept up with inflation (Con-sumer Price Index, CPI), causing minimum wage workers to fall further be-hind. When adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage of $1.60 per hour in 1968 would be equiv-alent to $10.32 per hour today, the highest mini-mum wage ever in terms of purchasing power. The last increase in mini-mum wage was in 2009 from $6.55 to $7.25. Ad-justing the minimum wage of $7.25 for infla-tion would be $8.05 to-day, still behind the 1968 level. I think it would be hard to argue against not subjecting the mini-mum wage to cost of liv-ing adjustments. There is an abundance of research on the minimum wage, and a preponderance of it shows that a modest in-crease in minimum wag-es, such as cost of living

increase, has little or no effect on the economy.

The question as to whether we raise the minimum wage or even have a minimum wage is an ongoing debate. That is, should there be a fed-erally mandated wage or should wages be market driven? Roosevelt estab-lished a minimum wage because of an oversupply of labor, and he wanted more people working and earning money to stim-ulate the economy. The economist Paul Krug-man points out that the benefits of low turnover and high morale in your workforce come not from paying a high wage, but from paying a high wage “compared with other companies.” That is pre-cisely what mandating an increase in the mini-mum wage for all compa-nies cannot accomplish.

Here is my take on it: If wages are market driv-en, then the supply and demand will dictate the wages. If labor is in short supply, wages will in-

crease because companies must pay more to attract and retain workers. This was true several years ago when the unemploy-ment rate was below 6 percent, and “help want-ed” signs were abundant-ly prevalent. However, if there is an oversupply of labor, when the unem-ployment rate is above 8 percent, there is not a strong demand for work-ers. Workers at this level have no bargaining pow-er and are often exploit-ed. In this case, I believe we need a minimum wage to protect workers.

Many minimum wage workers are part-time employees, so companies do not have to pay ben-efits such as sick leave, vacation, hospitalization or retirement contribu-tions. There are no feder-al laws requiring compa-nies to pay these benefits, but most do for full-time employees for the same reason Henry Ford raised wages to $5 per day – to retain good workers. They offer benefits to full-time

employees as a company policy, but most do not of-fer these benefits to part-time employees working less than 30 hours per week.

A minimum wage worker at $7.75 per hour working 40 hours per week for 52 weeks (no paid sick leave, holidays, vacations or time off) would earn $16,120 per year and below 150 per-cent of the 2012 Feder-al Poverty Guidelines of $16,755 for a single per-son. Many of those hold-ing part-time jobs hold two or three jobs work-ing more than 40 hours per week with no over-time pay as required in the FLSA Act. Many low-income workers, partic-ularly with dependents, receive subsistence help such as earned income tax credit, food stamps and Medicaid-supported health care. While these workers probably pay no income tax, they pay pay-roll taxes, and a dispro-portional amount of their income goes to sales tax-es. In my opinion, this is corporate welfare – not just welfare for low-in-come workers. This is the only way these people can exist and hence for com-panies to pay low wag-es. Raising the minimum wage could very well re-duce the reliance on gov-ernment subsistence pro-grams to survive. We need a realistic minimum wage, one adjusted annu-ally for inflation.

More information can be found at Pulse of Con-way website, pulseofcon-way.com

The minimum wage debate