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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Should Maryland Raise Minimum Wage To $10?

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A liberal lobbying group wants to raise Maryland's minimum wage.

Progressive Maryland will be launching its "Raise Maryland" campaign during a news conference on Tuesday in Annapolis.

The group wants to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour gradually to $10 an hour by 2013. Maryland last raised the minimum wage in 2009 when the federal minimum wage was raised.

The group says putting more money in paychecks will stimulate the state's economy.

Source

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

That sounds good, but I wonder what effect it will have on business owners, esp. small ones. Employers will have to cut the number of hours of their employees as well as the number of employees. Teenagers will especially be affected, I should think, unless there was an exemption to the law.

Anonymous said...

if you want to destroy small business during this severe recession/depression.. go ahead.. and while you are at it why not raise it to $20.00/hour

ridiculous

Anonymous said...

"The group says putting more money in paychecks will stimulate the state's economy."
Swell. But where does this 'money' come from-- Santa Claus?
This would be the absolute worst time to try to raise the wage, especially above the national wage.
It would be a job-killer, and cause higher prices.

Anonymous said...

Just plain stupid!

Anonymous said...

In a word - NO!

Anonymous said...

Raising Minimum Wage = More Tax Income for State

Anonymous said...

This would totally destroy most small business.

Anonymous said...

if you want to destroy small business during this severe recession/depression.. go ahead.. and while you are at it why not raise it to $20.00/hour

ridiculous


All I know is I am a college kid out here trying to work my behind off to start a life. I get paid minimum wage at the moment and work part time. I have an automobile that just went up on me and I cant even afford a cheap monthly payment for a new car because the business I have been working for for 2 years now decided they shouldnt give me a raise either year. To be honest if you think someone can survuve and help feed a family off minimum wage currently then you are not living in reality. I understand it will not help small business very much but I do also know that it is nearly impossible to scrape by off the current minimum wage. And thats not taking into account that I do not have a family to support at the moment so factor that in and your scvrewed.

I am guessing all who will oppose on here must be small business owner or ppl who have a decent amount of money that they do not want to cut into. Times are tougher then ever for my generation and thatnks to all the people in the past who screwed it up we will suffer the consequences. So before you start berading the notion that minimum wage should be raised, think about others first if possible.

Anonymous said...

The minimum wage should be raised to $10.00. Many people are doing the work of a $20.00 an hour employee and recieve no compensation for it. The state of Maryland can always find money to fund many foolish expenses but never to raise the minimum wage, especially for seniors who are still working, and also who are very dependable and do the work of the higher paid employees.

Anonymous said...

raising the minimum wage does not increase a worker's standard of living, and has been shown to not be a net positive in either the overall economy, nor the local economy. It's a sham, plain and simple.

Anonymous said...

Another reason to leave Maryland. We cannot get businesses here now! Had to be a Liberal who thiught that up!

Anonymous said...

It will have the opposite effect.

Cathy said...

its a double edge sword. i mean, who REALLY can live on $7.25 an hour? who REALLY can live on $10 an hour? minimum wage is rediculously low but i think that to raise it now would definately hurt small businesses, as others have said, and it would just raise the cost of lots of stuff.

its like raising the floor to close the gap but the ceiling goes up too. i don't think it would solve anything and may just make things worse :(

Anonymous said...

it's a starting wage and let the market pay what the market will pay.. it's called Capitalism.. not Communism

If you want Communism--try North Korea on for size or Cuba or the old Soviet Union.. great and prosperous places to live... no one worked because it didn't matter.. you got paid for showing up... what an awesome system...NOT

Anonymous said...

What differance does it make.

Anonymous said...

Of course they should - unemployment isn't high enough yet. Historically, every time a business owner has been forced to choose between paying someone more than they are worth or laying them off, they've laid them off. Unemployment has always risen when a new minimum wage level went into effect - always has, always will.

Anonymous said...

11:39. I feel your pain but you are not seeing the big picture. Pay attention to what some of the above posters are saying, do some research and remember we all started out making less than we needed to get along. Doing without cars, no lunch, renting not buying or living with someone to cut costs.

As you grow older you will grow wiser and richer if you manage what you do make well.

Anonymous said...

So what would happen to the folks who have worked their butts off to go from minimum wage to making $10/hour?

Anonymous said...

Go and work 2 minimum wage jobs if you want more money or work more hours....... So many people just want a free ride.....

Anonymous said...

1:03

Right on!

If the kid above wants more money, get another freaking job, just like the rest of us did when we were young.

typical, young, public educated future communist in the making complaining about the older generation making it tough.

oh my.

Got a car and it takes money to keep it going?

who woulda thunk it?

maybe he should just live at home with mom and dad.

increasing the minimum wage will force businesses to CUT workers.

You brain dead liberals have no idea do you?

A business runs to make a profit.

If you tack on more costs by forcing a business to increase wages, the business will have to cut back.

That means REDUCING payroll.

God, you morons that can't grasp this!

Maybe if it was drawn in pictures you miserable commies might understand.

Did anyone listen in economics class?

Please Scotty, beam me the hell up and get me outta here.

Anonymous said...

1:27
The tax payers and you are included , will pay for this ignorant idea . You need to be beamed up , don't bump your head this time on the way.

Anonymous said...

Let me get this straight - someone out there believes that a "part time job" should pay enough to support a family. Please! I had an employee who kept badgering me for a raise. He refused to work all the hours available, but wanted me to increase his hourly wage so he could take home more money each week. When you give people things they haven't earned those things lose some of their value. How many of these people understand that inorder to raise what we pay employees we have to raise the price of our service/product? When you reach the point where your service/product are overpriced and nobody buys then nobody receives a wage (minimum or otherwise)

Anonymous said...

1:03

Right on!

If the kid above wants more money, get another freaking job, just like the rest of us did when we were young.

typical, young, public educated future communist in the making complaining about the older generation making it tough.

oh my.

Got a car and it takes money to keep it going?

who woulda thunk it?

maybe he should just live at home with mom and dad.

increasing the minimum wage will force businesses to CUT workers.

You brain dead liberals have no idea do you?

A business runs to make a profit.

If you tack on more costs by forcing a business to increase wages, the business will have to cut back.

That means REDUCING payroll.

God, you morons that can't grasp this!

Maybe if it was drawn in pictures you miserable commies might understand.

Did anyone listen in economics class?

Please Scotty, beam me the hell up and get me outta here.


You must not have read any bit of info I poseted earlier. I do live at home, I do not have a car, and I got to school full time and work part time. Thats 7 out of 7 days of the week. If you would like to create an extra day so that I can work a new job and earn some extra cash then by all means please do. But if your dumb behind would rather be ignorant and critical of myself then shut up. I am out here trying to make a life, dont preach to me about getting another job I have been working at least a part time job every year since I have been eligible to actually have a job. Your a total d bag and if your such a genius why dont you go ahead and fix this SCREWED UP ECONOMY YOUR GENERATION CREATED.

Anonymous said...

not just no but, HELL NO!

Anonymous said...

Let me get this straight - someone out there believes that a "part time job" should pay enough to support a family. Please! I had an employee who kept badgering me for a raise. He refused to work all the hours available, but wanted me to increase his hourly wage so he could take home more money each week. When you give people things they haven't earned those things lose some of their value. How many of these people understand that inorder to raise what we pay employees we have to raise the price of our service/product? When you reach the point where your service/product are overpriced and nobody buys then nobody receives a wage (minimum or otherwise)

1:44 PM


No one said anything about supporting a family while working part time. What I said was if you believe you can support a family on minimum wage currently then you are not in touch with reality. I understand that it will cut jobs, but whats the point in working for the same amount of money you will spend on everyday transactions such as food, gas, and bills? There is no way to gain ground and it is absolutely ridiculous that we have to suffer through this because of decisions made by uniformed individuals from the past. You can complain about what i say all you want, it is the elder generation that has created the problem.

Anonymous said...

How many of you on here complaining about raising the minimum wage actually works for minimum wage, just wondering ?

Anonymous said...

I say lower it. People getting min wage are probably already getting too much other free money from the government anyway. lowering it will save business and therefore save the world!

Anonymous said...

If the minimum wages goes up so does the cost of everything else. We will pay more for clothing, food and everything else. How is this helping anyone but the ones making minimum wages. If you don't like to making $7.25 an hour you have to strive to better yourself not expect others to give you something for free. There is nothing that says a person should only work 1 job and be able to survive. You work to survive if that means working 2 jobs that is what you do. I'm tired of busting my butt so that others can get ahead.

Anonymous said...

Explain to me how the elder generation created the problem with the minimum wage. We all started out working at a minimum wage - even when that wage was $1.75 per hour as it was when I started working. If you have been working at a minimum wage job ever since you were old enough to work maybe the problem isn't the minimum wage but rather the fact that the work being done doesn't warrant a higher wage. Maybe you should look for a job that pays more than minimum wage.

Anonymous said...

I understand that it will cut jobs, but whats the point in working for the same amount of money you will spend on everyday transactions such as food, gas, and bills? . . . 2:32 pm


If you don't have some income how do you feed yourself , where do you live, how do you survive? On others? As a new born, you crawled before you walked. The elder generation has not done well, but we are not a welfare state yet

Anonymous said...

Raising the minimum wage ALWAYS hurts the low earners the most. The poor.
Why?
Many lower-paying jobs disappear when the employer has to pay more than the labor is worth. There are additional costs above the wage, like taxes, workman's comp, etc. Is it worth it to a business to pay somebody $10+/hr to flip burgers and text their friends?
Prices of everything will go up-- that includes food, clothing, etc. that the poor also need.
And by the way, college kids-- 'our' generation isn't responsible for all of the economic mess. Your boy Obammie ran up another $1500 debt per person in just the first quarter of FY 2011.
If you want the economic mess fixed, you'd better think before you vote. But don't blame me. I voted conservative.

Anonymous said...

who ever the Full time college student/part time employee is, needs to grow up. You brag about working part time and going to school full time. Here is a news flash for you: There are not any jobs out here so why bother going to school full time? Just go ahead and drop out and get a full time job that pays more than minimum wage so you can fix your car and move out of mom's house. You may also consider working full time and going to school part time because at this point the money is more valuable than the degree. My wife takes master's classes at night, works full time and raises two kids. Man up and get to work and stop making excuses for your situation. The economy isn't george bush's fault or some other generation's. Suck it up, you have more opportunity than any other generation.

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah-- one more thing--
Raise the min. wage to $10 and just watch the businesses racing to Maryland to provide you with a job.
This is already one of the most business-hostile states in the US.
Haven't you noticed all the businesses leaving the state?
You just wait.

Anonymous said...

Berger flippers making 10 bucks per hr? maybe service will be better.

Anonymous said...

11:39
I'm not trying to sound sarcastic but you must not be going to school for a business degree.

If you increase the wages, a small business will have to pay higher taxes on employees. They will have to cut hours and positions to make up for it. A business pays out to the state and gov't very similar to way you do. More money they spend on employees, the more they pay out. They would need to bring in more profits to keep up with the increase in employment taxes and unemployment taxes.
BTW - I'm a small business owner. We're all trying to get through these hard times.

Anonymous said...

If they raise it, there will be lots of county employees getting raises. YAHOO!!!

Anonymous said...

More reason for businesses NOT TO HIRE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go morons!

Anonymous said...

and that is hardly a living wage
if small business owners cant afford to pay people respectable wages they need to rethink being in business or do the work themselves
we are not going to be saved by cupcake and gift shops

Anonymous said...

Raising the minimum wage is always a bad idea. That said, a lot of the comments here are no better or more thought out than the bad economic proposals. If you know why it's a bad idea, maybe you should explain why. Instead of bashing everyone as communists or taking out your resentment on people who don't know economics, consider using your knowledge to persuade some people over to your side. I think most people are just trying to get by the best way they know how and support ideas that make sense to them.

Thanks to those who took the time to explain some things to the college kid rather than just making personal attacks on someone who seems like a good kid who is misinformed about economics.

Anonymous said...

YES

Anonymous said...

so I guess all of the small business owners all drive home to their tralers in their old 1970's era cars to save money of course. I'll bet they all drive home to their great big house in their great big cars and trucks, screw the little guys. The little guys are the ones doing all the work so they can have their great big house and cars. If their small business is making money they can absorb a small payroll increase.

Anonymous said...

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

ABSOLUTELY NOT..................