Even though Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret pumped the brakes on Lincoln setting its own minimum wage, the story is more than an accounting of dollars and cents. It also includes whether voters’ voices are being muted or which branch of state government gets to decide.
Another narrative, this one about the principles of what we call “work,” runs parallel to the numbers and the politics. In short, it’s because minimum wage workers have and provide value. Nebraska voters have already said so.
The backstory begins at the ballot box and, to date, has stalled in a courtroom. Maret issued a temporary injunction against the Capital City from going forward with its plan to raise the minimum wage for all workers to $15 an hour…