For those unaware of what has become a nationwide movement, the living wage idea is about empowering the working poor and providing a wage that allows them to be self-reliant and not dependent on government assistance programs. In most cities, this has come about through ordinances passed by city councils that require government contractors and subsidy recipients (think sports arenas and mega-shopping centers) to pay a living wage of $9 or more dollars plus health benefits. The law has now affected nearly 10,000 workers in the city of Los Angeles, and this study takes a comprehensive look at how the law has played out since its passage in 1997.

Contrary to the fear-mongering of doomsayers, Los Angeles did not turn into a rustbelt tragedy of fleeing businesses and mass unemployment. In fact, just the opposite has occurred. Workers are being compensated better and companies are none the worse for it. Minimal job loss was seen and what firms under the ordinance (primarily city contractors, but also concessionaires and lessees) gained by paying slightly higher wages is less absenteeism and turnover, the ability to attract more highly-skilled workers and an increase morale and productivity.

This may sound like a no-brainer to those who’ve seen the efficacy of such policies, but it’s important that definitive academic studies such as this one, with unassailable methodology and academic thoroughness, get noticed and reported on so as to present the facts about public policy that works in a media too often saturated with misinformation and propaganda supported by the private interests who pay for it.

The study is not all good news of course. Most workers are still not receiving health insurance, and even with the living wage raises, are not able to cover their basic expenses. Many are raising families, and again contrary to those who conjecture that low-wage jobs are generally held by teenagers, the study found that they are predominantly adults from low-income families, usually working full-time and sometimes even holding down two jobs.

But, we are making progress and that's good news for people who care about making this country a better place for everyone.