Fifteen thousand dollars per year is not enough to live off of, but that is what a full-time worker earning minimum wage in Kentucky makes.

Last week the Kentucky House of Representatives passed a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour over the next three years.

The measure, which passed the House largely on party lines, is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled state Senate. Republicans oppose the increase because they say it will hurt businesses and employment.

A study by legislative staff economists showed that an increase in minimum wage could cost Kentucky 14,000 jobs.

This is not likely to happen, as it has not happened in California, Illinois, or New Jersey (states that are also increasing their minimum wage) and did not happen last time our minimum wage increased.

Moreover, the bill would offer protection for mom-and-pop businesses — those that would be hit the hardest — with less than $500,000 in yearly revenue. But Kentucky needs this law to pass — desperately.

Kentucky has the fifth-highest poverty rate in the nation, and one in four workers currently stands to gain from this bill. But what about the cost to us? Wouldn’t a minimum wage increase also raise prices? Yes, but barely.

A study in California showed that at a big chain like Walmart, a one-time price increase of 1.1 percent would be enough to pay for a $12 per hour minimum wage.

Other studies have shown that a $12 minimum wage would only cost an extra 46 cents for each trip to the store. Inflation keeps prices increasing whether we raise the minimum wage or not.

The problem is that while prices have increased over the last few decades, average incomes have not. If history is our barometer, prices will go up whether we pay workers a fair wage or not.

Many Republicans have said that a wage increase is not the answer and that help from programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit is.

Because low-wage workers usually do not make enough money to pay income taxes (about $15,000 per year for full-time workers at $7.25 per hour), giving workers more money as a tax credit amounts to a welfare check — something Republicans have been less than supportive of lately.

A $10.10 minimum wage would give workers about $21,000 per year, which is more than the Earned Income Tax Credit would unless it was raised substantially. A minimum wage hike could also decrease the deficit on its own.

Most low-wage workers are receiving thousands of dollars per person in welfare. If these workers are paid more, they will use less welfare and the money that would have gone to welfare can be used to shrink the deficit.

Corporate profits are at an all-time high and incomes are stagnant. Businesses can afford this and workers deserve it. It is time for $10.10.

opinions@kykernel.com