so the local subshop or pizzashop with three or four employees will pay out about another $125 a week. and just exactly who is going to absorb the cost??? the customer... enjoy your meal.
Posted on 07/23/2009 8:48:59 PM PDT by Liberty Valance
For the third time in three years, the state minimum wage will increase today to keep with a staggered, federally-mandated pay increase schedule.
All employees currently earning the minimum $6.55 an hour will see their earnings increase by 70 cents to $7.25 an hour starting today.
The mandatory pay increase is the third and final step in a graduated minimum wage hike approved by the federal government several years ago.
For employees like George Sprouse of Kerrville, who works one full-time minimum wage job and another part-time, the pay increase will be beneficial.
“Seventy cents an hour makes a big difference,” said Sprouse. “It’s not a lot, but it will help. I’ll still have to keep both jobs, though.”
Sprouse is one of 262,000 Texas workers who earned the federal minimum wage or less in 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number is out of 12 million total civilian workers in the state.
“There is absolutely no arguing with the fact that it is difficult to raise a family on minimum wage,” said Guy Overby, president of the Kerr Economic Development Foundation. “Many of these families are forced to hold multiple jobs.”
Despite economic hardship for those at the bottom of the pay scale, Overby cautioned against what government-mandated wage increases could mean for the local economy — particularly in the midst of a recession that unfolded after federal wage increase was approved in 2007.
“The timing for this increase couldn’t be worse,” he said. “Some businesses could be impacted significantly.”
Overby said businesses could be forced to lay off some employees or raise prices to cover the cost of increased wages. It’s not just minimum wage that will increase, he said. Many businesses will have to raise the entire pay scale to be fair to workers already making more than minimum wage.
“The good thing is businesses have had three years to plan and prepare for this,” Overby said. “But, then, increases like this don’t just affect minimum wage earners, it impacts the entire community.”
If you keep your job, that is.
Watch Unemployment Numbers the next few weeks.
so the local subshop or pizzashop with three or four employees will pay out about another $125 a week. and just exactly who is going to absorb the cost??? the customer... enjoy your meal.
“..so the local subshop or pizzashop with three or four employees will pay out about another $125 a week.
and just exactly who is going to absorb the cost??? the customer... enjoy your meal.”
Employee # 3 or 4 will now become employee # 2 or 3 - they will jettison one person, and, yes, probably raise prices in the bargain in anticipation of the next mandated wage increase. Ain’t Democrats smaht?
I seem to remember the villagers wanted the higher pay scale even when it resulted in the goods they needed being priced even higher in terms of hours worked.
My cousin owns two fast foods restaurants in Kerrville. He’ll probably have to do with one less employee at each one. Multiply by every fast food restaurant you drive by and it adds up. Not that the left cares. They want these people on Welfare, not working.
Story on our local news today about more people seeking assistance at various charities interviewed a young woman who said she got a raise due to min. wage increase, but her employer cut her hours to part-time. Morons doing the reporting did not make the connection. Libs surely helped this gal out with their compassion! Due to min. wage increase, she now needs charity to make ends meet.
Of course, the min. wage is really about boosting union wages and not about helping the poor at all. The wages paid on fed contract jobs to union workers are tied to the min. wage. It goes up; they get paid more. As usual, follow the money.
I think it was Rush who said “only a democrat will blame the government they haven’t got a raise in pay in the past 5 years”
This is fantastic. I don’t get a raise because of “the economic downturn” even though my company is still making a profit. Now these burger flippers get a 70c raise making my money worth even less. LORD, I know you’re watching this but when’s it going to end?
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