Monday’s Smart Talk examines the impact of a $15 minimum wage

• Scott LaMar
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  Scott LaMar has worked in both radio and television for more than four decades.
  
  Currently, LaMar is the Host and Executive Producer of The Spark program on WITF-FM, 89.5 & 93.3 in Harrisburg, Pa.
  
  Previously, LaMar was WITF TV’s Sr. Public Affairs producer and produced the station’s award-winning weekly public affairs TV program, Smart Talk.
  
  In addition to his on-air duties, LaMar has moderated political candidate debates, including those for candidates running for Pennsylvania governor and the U.S. Senate and was a regular contributor to BBC World News TV before and after the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
  
  LaMar often emcees or moderates local events and has gone as far as California to emcee a national event.
  
  The American Society of Civil Engineers honored LaMar with their national Excellence in Journalism award in 2020. He has been nominated for five Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
  
  LaMar and The Spark have been recognized throughout the Central Pennsylvania community including ADVOZ Lancaster’s “Dignity in Dialogue Award”, the South-Central Assembly’s “Regional Citizen Award” and was named a “Humanitarian Hero” by The Humane Society of the United States/Pennsylvania.
  
  A native of Coatesville, Pa., LaMar has also worked as a broadcast news anchor, sports play-by-play announcer and manager.

 J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo

Activists appeal for a $15 minimum wage near the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021.

Airdate: Monday, March 1, 2021

Both President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf have proposed increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by the year 2027.

Those who support hiking the minimum say it will help millions of low-paid workers and lift them out of poverty while opponents say it will result in a loss of jobs because employers won’t be able to afford to employ workers at higher wages.

Both sides can point to statistics to back up their arguments, which is one of the reasons raising the minimum wage is such a contentious issue.

The Congressional Budget Office recently released a report saying a $15 minimum would raise close to a million people out of poverty, but also kill 14 million jobs.

Dr. Arindrajit Dube, Ph.D., Professor, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences Department of Economics, Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst has researched the minimum wage through dozens of studies and is critical of the CBO report. He appears on Monday’s Smart Talk.

Immigrants assisting law enforcement in solving crimes could be deported due to backlog

Also on Monday’s show, the U-visa program, designed to provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are the victims of crime but assist law enforcement, is significantly backed up. As a result, immigrants who may be eligible to become legal U.S. residents, could be deported while waiting for their cases to be heard.
A group of attorneys is pushing to speed up the U-visa program. Two of them — Whitney Phelps, Esq., Managing Attorney, Community Programs with the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center and David Freedman, Esq., Barley Snyder Attorneys at Law — join us on Smart Talk.