Raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 should be a no-brainer. Republicans say it will cause employers to shed jobs, but that's baloney. Employers won't outsource the jobs abroad or substitute machines for them because jobs at this low level of pay are all in the local personal service sector (retail, restaurant, hotel, and so on), where employers pass on any small wage hikes to customers as pennies more on their bills. States that have a minimum wage closer to $9 than the current federal minimum don't have higher rates of unemployment than do states still at the federal minimum.
A mere $9 an hour translates into about $18,000 a year — still under the poverty line. When you add in the Earned Income Tax Credit and food stamps it's possible to barely rise above poverty at this wage, but even the poverty line of about $23,000 understates the true cost of living in most areas of the country.
Besides, the proposed increase would put more money into the hands of families that desperately need it, allowing them to buy a bit more and thereby keep others working.
A decent society should do no less.
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14 comments:
One should earn a decent wage for a decent hour's work and a minimum wage defeats that axiom.
Should be raised to $ 25 per hour
While there's not many people busting down the door for employment, at some point a person isn't worth minimum wage. With all of the unemployment extensions, everyone is now entitled to that free money. The people coming in don't have the skills to generate the $7.25/hr of goods/services to pay the wage they desire. So, now it will go $9.00 for a person who isn't producing at $7.25. Will that $1.75, or 24% raise, equal 24% increase in production? NEVER. Unemployment will rise when/if this takes effect.
A minimum wage is for unskilled workers. Want to get paid more? Learn a marketable skill.
here here 511. Want more pay, train for a better job or sell a more profitable product/service
Everyone making minimum wage who wants to earn more only has to make themselves worth more. Maybe that's just as easy as turning the hat around and pulling pants up; maybe might have to learn acceptable communication skills; maybe it's just looking.
One should earn a decent wage for a decent hour's work and a minimum wage defeats that axiom.
February 21, 2013 at 4:03 PM
You think employer's would pay a penny more than they are forced to?
Wages is their number one expense and one they are always looking to lower.
If the market determined the wages of most people, minimum or not, just about everyone would get a pay cut.
Don't assume that all businesses are against this. They are only pretending. Big business is behind this and democrats pander to big business. It's a ploy of big business to keep on elimination competetion any way they can. Of course the small mom and pop business that employes kids on a part time basis will feel the effects but big corps such as Walmart will not because they can raise prices in such a strategic way it will not be felt by consumers.
While I agree minimum wage should be raised in some instances, doing it across the board isn't the answer.
It's totally a ploy by big corporations to eliminate the small independant mom and pop shops. Seriously how are the minimum wage workers going to be helped by such a small amount?
The problem is alot of these previously stepping stone jobs have turned into careers for some people due to the lack of what a lot of people call "real jobs." Alot of the companies know they have these people by the necks because of the elimination of much of their competition.
Don't be fooled its about taxes !! More you make the more they get and your right it will hurt mom and pop stores .
What cheapskates employers are. They could care less how much pain they inflict on their employees little better than slave owners.
You can not survive on $7.25/hour in America. Thus the others that make more are taxed to buy these workers food, rent, schooling and more.
$9.00 still puts them in poverty. If you can not pay your employees that much close your business.
I'm an employer who wants to pay all my carpenters $25 and hour. Trouble is, it costs me $35 an hour to pay that, and since I need to make money too, they need to produce at $50 an hour for me to break even. For my company to make a 15% profit, now they need to produce at around $60 an hour.
Buy a lot, build a 1200 s.f. house on it and hook it up to utilities, and it will cost $200k. Put it on the market for $230k. The same house next door is in foreclosure and for sale for $115k, and one can probably get it for an even hundred.
Now, tell me why I need to pay anyone $25 an hour again?
5:55 brings out this big mess we are in-it's a cycle that was created by the democrats. In a perfect world homeownership would be a right as opposed to a benefit or privilege. Democrats (Barney Frank for one and Obama because that's what he did under the guise of community organizer) convinced people who could not afford it that home ownership was a right.
This hurt the lower income people horribly. Alot have lost homes they after putting their good money into it and alot are struggling to hold on to home worth a lot less than their mortgages.
Now Frank's "retiring" with the mess still unresolved and obama's continuing to only help those already with pockets overflowing with money.
When are people going to realize that the democrats come up with nothing but scams disguised as helping people but in the end they hurt more than they help.
11:07 Don't forget Christopher Dodd was Barney's willing accomplice. The two of their asses should be in jail for destroying our country's housing market, but no, the Obama administration made them overseers on the banking oversight committees. CROOKS AND THEIVES ALL.
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