Oregon law makes sure that the minimum wage goes up with inflation as measured in Portland. What we need now is a law that forces employers' earnings to rise in proportion.

That would be only fair, wouldn't it?

The minimum wage next year is going to $8.40 an hour, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries has announced.

The Oregon Center for Public Policy says this is "welcome news for the state's lowest-paid workers, who have been hit hard by escalating food and gas prices."

Of course. But it's not welcome news for these workers if, because of rising costs and sliding revenue, their jobs have to be cut.

So the answer would be another law, one that requires customers of Oregon employers to keep buying more or paying more for what they are buying in line with the Portland Consumer Price Index.

Absurd? Yes, sure it's absurd in a free country. But when you think about it, it's just as absurd to require wages to rise by a certain percentage every year without a corresponding increase in the ability to pay. (hh)