Posted on 07/20/2014 12:03:29 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
SEATTLE (VR) – Does raising the minimum wage kill jobs? Most probably not. Does it increase jobs? We don’t know for sure, but it might. Or at least these are the inferences one is likely to make from a recent report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research. It turns out that 12 out of 13 states that raised their minimum wage on January 1, 2013 are experiencing increases in employment. The report also states that the average change in employment for these 13 states is +.99% while the average change in employment in the remaining states is +.68%.
This data provides strong support for states and even cities that have gone against conservative opposition to raising the minimum wage. In June, for example, the Seattle City Council announced that it had approved a city ordinance to gradually raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021. This hourly rate is more than twice the federal minimum wage rate set at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Although this move has come under widespread criticism – and even litigation -- according to some estimates it will benefit about 100,000 low-wage workers in the Seattle area.
The federal minimum wage is obviously a cruel joke. A 40-hour work week for four weeks at $7.25 an hour yields a monthly income of $1,160 before taxes. What can you do with $1,160? Let’s start with rent. If you decide to rent a place for 30% of that salary then your rent would be $348. In most places in the country, a decent dwelling will cost you more than this amount. Not to mention, in most cases this place will only be available to you if you can put together a security deposit – which you may not be able to afford if you are already a minimum-wage worker.
Your cell phone – mandatory in this day and age -- will cost about $50. Now, add to this all the various other expenses and bills – utilities, credit cards, car insurance and gas (if you drive), or a monthly pass for public transportation, groceries, household essentials, and taxes. Admittedly, a very frugal and calculating individual on a strict diet can make ends meet on this wage.
But what if you have a child? A parent that needs care? Or a partner who doesn’t have a full-time job? Or all of these things? As it turns out, this is very, very likely. The average age of minimum wage workers is 35. Half are older than 30 and about a third are older than 40. About 55% are women and about 27% have kids. For most of these people, the federal minimum wage feels less like a living salary and more like a slap on the face.
President Obama’s somewhat moderate call in his State of the Union address this year to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour is a step in the right direction and it has wide support from Democrats. But most Republicans in Congress are strongly opposed to the passage of any such bill. In fact, in April this year Senate Republicans blocked the passage of a bill securing the White House-backed increase in the federal minimum wage to $10.10. It is also well known that any such bill would face much stiffer opposition from House Republicans even if it cleared the Democrat-majority Senate. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), for example, claims “Voting for an increase for the minimum wage is saying your jobs don’t matter to me because they will get taken away.”
But this makes no sense. First of all, there is now clear evidence to the contrary provided by the 13 states that did increase their wages on January 1 this year. In addition, there is a nation-wide recognition that the federal minimum wage is laughably low. 71 percent of Americans surveyed in a recent poll said they would like to see a hike in the federal minimum. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has recently noted: if increases in minimum wage kept pace with increases in productivity since 1960, we would today have a minimum wage of $22 an hour!
It is no wonder that Massachusetts has recently voted to gradually raise the minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2017. While it is not without controversy (the raise in the minimum wage for tipped workers is arguably not high enough), it is a sensible move. Michigan has also voted to gradually increase its minimum wage to $9.25 by 2018. In the recent past, Vermont, Maryland, Minnesota, Delaware, West Virginia, Connecticut, New York, California, and Hawaii – have each approved bills to hike their minimum wage. As of now 22 states and Washington D.C. have a minimum wage above the federal minimum. About 34 states are currently considering increases to their minimum wage.
Washington’s paralysis on the minimum wage question is unpardonable. There can be no question that the current rate of $7.25 an hour is a dehumanizing wage. In this bleak climate, Seattle has offered a glimmer of sanity and hope. It has demonstrated to the rest of the country that when Washington is paralyzed, state and local authorities – with the support of the people – can and need to go it alone.
Voters in San Francisco, which has a current minimum wage of $10.74, are going to decide in November whether they want to increase their minimum wage to $15 an hour. Other cities should also follow Seattle’s example and set their own -- and humane -- minimum wage. It is simply the right thing to do, whether or not Washington gets its act together.
Yup....Wanna solve unemployment....make the minimum wage $50/hr...2 days after the unemployment rate will be negligible...4 days after..Oh hell..it was nice while it lasted!
How many businesses has Cyril run?
Ummm.Let’s check back in 4 years. Chances are the business there will be ‘CLOSED’ So much for job security, eh?
Bump
They are looking into the possibility that they will soon be able to redistribute their new found wealth.
har,har,har
Go look at his picture and make a guess.
horse crap article with no educational information. just a bunch of authoritarian statements of demand for proof to the contrary.
point is, any business, including government, is liable to end up making less money than labor itself once a wage is fixed, because a business’ own “wage” or revenue varies.
This is utter communist hypocrisy promise.
Kyrill, Russian name, from greek Lord Kurye.
They are living up to their Communist past.
Your cell phone—mandatory in this day and age—will cost about $50 …LOL “mandatory”. Sure, so the secret police can track your every move, eh?
roflmto...We are going to believe ‘voice of Russia’ propaganda?
I’m sure Voice of Russia only has our best interests in mind
btw what’s their take on the MH17 crash lol
I thought minimum wage workers would qualify for free Obamaphones...Yakov has a dinner theatre in Branson, MO
http://www.yakov.com/schedule/
Who are you going to believe, Me... or your lying eyes?
It’s like the holacost didn’t happen
Actually, it pretty much is. However, there are various plans where you can get a free phone then unlimited talk and text for $25/month or less.
Which is a good deal cheaper than a landline in most places.
Common sense and reality are not traits of the leftists. They are like children living with their parents writing books on how to be a millionaire. They have no credibility or believability.
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