Legislative package also expands access to early childhood education; addresses ballooning health care costs; and supports job growth through innovation
ANNAPOLIS, MD (January 20, 2014) -- Governor O’Malley today released details of the Administration’s 2014 legislative agenda, focused on boosting efforts to grow the economy from the middle out, create more jobs, support our nation-leading innovation firms, and better prepare our children to compete in the 21st century global economy.
“We’re going to forge consensus and increase the minimum wage -- when workers earn more money, businesses will have more customers, and we’ll grow Maryland’s economy from the middle out.” Gov. O’Malley said. “Thanks to the leadership of the General Assembly over the last seven years, we’ve made better choices and achieved better results for the people of Maryland; we’re going to continue making progress this year.”
“Under the Governor’s leadership, we’ve made great progress for Maryland families.” said Lt. Governor Anthony Brown. “This year, I look forward to working with the General Assembly to expand access to high quality pre-k to approximately 1,600 more Maryland children while strengthening protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.”
The O’Malley-Brown Administration’s legislative package builds on both the investments announced in the FY15 budget, and the better results achieved over the last seven years with proposals centered around key priority areas including:
JOBS/ ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/WORKFORCE TRAINING
The Governor plans to champion hard-working Maryland families with legislation to raise the State’s minimum wage to $10.10 by 2016. The legislation secures purchasing power for workers by indexing the rate to inflation beginning in the year 2017, while also strengthening current law with an increase of the cash wage rate for tipped workers from 50 percent to at least 70 percent of the minimum wage. If passed, the increase will benefit 472,000 Maryland workers according to analysis from the National Employment Law Project.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
17 comments:
INNOVATION?? ??? ???
Lower GAS PRICES by drilling for our own oil...
The sad truth is that it will be disastrous for employees. Employers are already running scared with the costs that Obamacare will impose on them. Add this to the mix and most employers will do what they have to do to survive. They will strive to keep their total payroll the same, and not give the same hours to people making 39% more (well, maybe if was a merit increase for greater productivity - let the state mandate that). If they don't maintain the same total payroll dollars, many will be financially hurt or forced to close.
I have often wondered how Obama or O'Malley and their hordes of policy wonks would do if given the financial statements of perhaps ten or twenty small businesses of varying sizes, typical of the country (or Maryland, in O'Malley's case), with the mandate of factoring in Obamacare and now the minimum wage, on top of the lousy economy. Show us exactly what's going to happen to the modest profits that most businesses enjoy, and where money's supposed to come from to pay for these pipedreams. Show us how fast some of them will disappear. In truth, most of those people couldn't explain a business or a financial statement projection even if you threatened to cut off their MSNBC.
No, instead, each of them talks about extending unemployment benefits and...more job training!! Oh yeah, that will fix things.
5:33
All rainbows and butterflies those employers are. Lining their pockets on the backs of their underpaid employees, while coaching them on how to sign up for welfare.
If a minimal increase, on a couple of employees, is going to send them careening off a cliff, then they do not belong in business.
I can name a few "small" businesses here in Smallsbury, where the owner(s) retired multi-millionaires, while their employees are living in poverty.
Or how about the dude that put a $500,000 addition on his house using co. profits and told his staff he had no money for raises.
But that's the way we roll here in the Bury.
Explains a lot; high welfare, high crime, high poverty, low homeownership.
All rainbows and butterflies.....
The solution to this problem is STOP BORROWING OUR FUTURE....make the dollar worth more not less.... with moves like this .is reduces spending power....and min wage will need to be raised again....total idiots
Joe
I was listening to a conversation by the guy that runs critter getters ....I know you know him...he broke it down very well ...you should get him to do a explanation of this
6:08 - You are only partially correct. Sure there are local examples of such greed, and let's not even get started on national examples. However, there are plenty of employers who have a sense of social justice and play fair with their employees. These are the ones who will be hurt the most. Suppose you have a summer business and rely on college kids and other unskilled help who are grateful for the current 7.25/hr. Say you hire 25 of them and your current payroll (for these people alone) is $94,250. Say that also is your net income for the year. The increase as proposed will cost about $12,250 the first year, $24,500 the next, and $36,750 the third and succeeding years. That's about $73,500 over three years and $147,000 over five. Over the five years, it's a 31% drop in net income and 39% every year thereafter.
Think about it. How about you volunteering to cut your pay 31% for the next five years, and 39% every year thereafter, for doing the same job. Even worse, suppose you had to do it because the next regime thought lazy, unproductive, malcontent workers were the problem, not the evil greedy capitalists.
It is a common misconception among working people, bureaucrats and some others that anyone in business is making millions of dollars annually. It is just not the case.
If anything, these proposals should go after the real abusers: owners/executives making mega-millions annually on the backs of thousands of workers paid the minimum. But you have to draw the line, maybe using math and ratios, because these proposals will be very harmful to the business community in general. Hit BOA and McDonald's and Walmart and others, not the corner bookstore and the local eatery barely scraping by. This mindset of "all businesses are evil must pay!!!" is pure lunacy. - 5:33
6:08 how well would you pay your employees if you had a small business?
Is O'Malley really this stupid or is it that when Obama comes up with an idea O'Malley pushes it on Maryland just to get attention from Obama and the democratic party?
6:08 - feel free to open your own business and show everybody how it's done.
8:00 bla bla bla bla bla.
Like I said, if a lousy small increase in MW put a small biz out of biz they should not be in biz.
There is historical data from its inception that disputes your overblown theory. This disaster theory goes on over and over and over every time they hike it and it is never the end of the world.
Commenters such as you, never do the research on why there is a MW. Because employers are greedy and do not do the right thing.
So while you are passing out the kleenex. I took a pay cut in 2009 and am making the same that I was making in 2005. Everything has risen exponentially, except for my wage. I did not realize how rich I was in 2005, because even at that wage I was better off than I am now. But, my employer did not take a pay cut at all. All 30+ of us did.
Anyone can manipulate mathematics, but historically you have no clue what you are talking about.
And what a joke about summer help. They hire foreigner so they do not have to pay decently, no benefits and tax breaks. What a clueless dolt you are. I am sure they are SOOO grateful to work 16+ hr days for crap pay, bunking with 10 people to a room. Oh you didn't know about that side of the "summer job"? Idiot.
Like I said, all rainbows and butterflies.
9:24 - I owned a construction business. I know how its done.
Obviously you don't.
And there you have it - the typical liberal who can't win an argument with logic, and has to resort to name-calling. Facts beat rhetoric every time. Go back to MSLSD, and dream of biting the hand that feeds you.
10:01 is that the best you got?
I have history on my side.
I have historical data on my side.
You've got nothing and have offered nothing.
Same old crap with the arm chair wanna be's. Acting all uppity, but all I am hearing are crickets.
Enjoy the "disaster" ride, stock up on water, TP, and pork and beans! The end is coming! MW will put and end to us all!!
10:01 is another idiot.
Most people feed themselves.
"Ballooning health care costs"?
Such as f-ing up every aspect that the state is responsible for, so they keep throwing money at it? That costs? Or is it the cost of "launching" a fisher price website (hundreds of millions)?
$10.10 per hour for a person who isn't worth $7.25? 20+% unemployment in the state, worse in the county. Soak it in.
UNION wages will increase as well, but money is no object to them; nothing to see here, move on........
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