Raise Oklahoma announced that it is ending its minimum wage petition drive because of a failure to achieve enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. Acccording to state law, the group needed at least 117,101 signatures within 90 days of beginning the petition drive. Like most Marxists ideas that refuse to die, spokesman Linda Murphy vows to try again. It is apparent by Raise Oklahoma's failure, that most Oklahomans understand that government -mandating raising the minimum wage - hurts small businesses and the entry level jobs they provide to teenagers and low skilled workers. The Oklahoma Political Affairs Council has a comprehensive article on the truth behind the minimum wage debate. For example: "The conventional wisdom is that endless throngs of single parents are struggling to make ends meet while working a job that offers only minimum wages and no opportunity for advancement. But here are some facts from the BLS about minimum wage earners in the United States (the BLS did not have data specifically on Oklahoma, but there is no reason to believe Oklahoma would deviate significantly from the national picture.)

• 5.3% of all minimum-wage earners live in households in poverty.
• 40% of minimum-wage earners live in households with incomes of $60,000 and higher.
• 15% of minimum-wage earners remain at the minimum wage for three years.
• 82% of minimum-wage earners do not have dependents.

Posted at 6/29/2006 11:36:00 AM