[griswold3]

Tech will take care of low wage jobs. If no one will do them, there’s an ‘ap’ for that.
As in, a disruption in picking tomatoes lead to a hybrid that could be picked by machine. Automated MickyD’s and Wendy’s are just ahead.

[dynachrome]

“Laura Bailey makes $7.80 working at Wendy’s”

and food stamps and other EBT money and HUD housing and free school meals and so on.

Probably makes approx. $35,000/year.

[cripplecreek]

An increase of the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 “would do wonders” for her budget, she said.

And how many of her co-workers is she willing to see fired so she and the remaining workers can get it?

There's a reason they don't call it a homeowner's wage or child raiser's wage.

[PGR88]

The Catholic “social justice” view on this is simplistic and shallow. They are promoting the emotional, knee-jerk, progressive policies which in fact caused this, and will make a bad situation worse.

First of all, few if any, families have 4 members all working at minimum wage. Raise the minimum wage, and you simply make it more difficult for low-skill young people to find jobs.

Secondly, they should look to our monetary and regulatory system. Rigid, socialist controlled labor markets, Printed fiat money, destruction of the currency and stealth inflation to pay for Government debt, bailouts and Government over-spending will always hit those without physical assets and those without skills the hardest ie) lowest-wage earners.

One wonders if they learned anything at all from poverty in (Catholic) nations such as Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, or Haiti

The UCCB should protest Ben Bernanke instead.

[Graybeard58]

An increase of the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 “would do wonders” for her budget, she said.

A 24% rise in my income would do wonders for my budget too.

[Sgt_Schultze]

It's not just the minimum wage workers who are affected. The employer also has to build back in the steps in earnings between his experienced help and the newbies. Then there's the added withholding that accompanies the higher wages, along with the higher unemployment insurance payments. So, in essence, the $1.75 hourly increase the nuts advocate for starting wages will balloon to nearly $4 per hour for every hour worked by every employee.

Let's say during an 8 hour shift there are 4 employees. That's 32 hours per shift, times 2 shifts = 64 work hours per day, times $4 = $256 per day, times 7 = $1792 extra dollars per week. Or $93,184 higher annual labor costs than anticipated.

The boss can fire himself, or a couple of employees.
Who do you think will win that tug-of-war?

[SECURE AMERICA]

An increase of the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 “would do wonders” for her budget, she said.

A $1.75 raise would do wonders for my budget also. But I may be real lucky and get 25 cents - 30 cents no matter how hard I work.
$7.25 for bagging fries seems pretty good to me. My first civilian job when I mustered out in 1973 was a Correctional Officer in a County Prison at $2.75 an hour.

[17th Miss Regt]

Blacks are affected most severely when the minimum wage is raised. Fewer of them can get a job under the higher minimum wage. This is a deliberate attempt to put more of them out of work and in the arms of the welfare state.

I guess the proponents of this a higher minimum wage think, "We may not have gotten to kill them before they were born (although we tried), but we don't have to give them anything but a miserable existence of dependence on the state in crime-infested ghettos!"

[RobinOfKingston]

I am sympathetic to Ms Bailey’s predicament. It is, however, not the prerogative of government to decide that Wendy’s can afford to pay her more. If she isn’t making enough to pay the bills, it is time to find another job.

[bert]

Where is her husband? How much does he earn?

[central_va]

If you are going to have a minimum wage at all, it should b e adjusted regionally. Minimum wage in Alabama goes farther than in NYC. I know nobody makes minimum wage in NYC but it is the gauge all salaries are measured.