Okay. Why hasn't minimum wage been raised in the last seven years?
(feel free to add your own arm-chair economics comments)
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I remember being soooo excited when I got my first $5.00/hr job.
But yeah, minimum wage should probably be raised.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
The explanation I've been given (and I don't necessarily buy it) is that:
1) The vast majority of people earning minimum wage aren't really trying to raise a family or even support themselves on that wage. They're "kids" who are in their first job in the work force and for whom any wage is a fair wage because, le'ts face it, they aren't really worth anything to an employer.
2) If we raise the minimum wage, it'll just hurt small businesses who are the drivers of our economy. They provide vital jobs and have led the way out of the last <insert number here> recessions.
Now, of course, anyone not too terribly dense will see that these statements are not really compatible. Either minimum wage jobs don't matter (as in number 1) and the only people who have them are kids living at home and working to earn gas & date money, or they are the vital lynchpin of our economy and harming the employers who pay minimum wage would mean the end of civilization as we know it.
Really, the truth probably lies somewhere in between. Places like McDonalds might have to pass along some increased costs to consumers. But really, how many people here have worked a minimum wage job for any length of time? For the vast majority of people, it's a temporary thing that you accept for summer employment or when you have zero skills (i.e., it is your first job).
Posted by Jalapenoman (Member # 6575) on :
Jimmy Carter raised the minimum wage five times in his four year presidency. His tenure was marked by runaway inflation.
Examine the years when the minimum wage is raised and you will always note times of high inflation.
Raising the minimum wage is also counterproductive and is harmful to the ecomony. Every business that pays its emplyees minimum wage (hereafter called M.W.) must increase their prices to increase their payroll. Everyone that buys from these companies must pass on the increased prices in their pricing structure.
If you raise M.W. by 3%, almost every price in America will increase by at least 3%. There ends up being no value to the M.W. worker as their buying power does not increase.
It also harms the salaried person or anyone else who makes over the M.W. as their buying power is also decreased.
I have had employees in the past who made 20 cents over M.W. When the rate increased by 25 cents, they only got a nickel pay increase. Companies never recognized that people making over the rate should stay at the same amount over that rate. I talked with other employers in the area and never found anyone who was permitted to increase everyone elses salaries or rates proportionately to a M.W. increase.
So, anyone who made slightly over minimum but is then cut to the new minimum by the increase also has a drop in buying power.
Smart politicians have come to realize this and will only approve an increase once every five or six years. It is then generally done when the white house and congress are controlled by opposing parties so that they can blame eachother for the resulting inflation.
I'll get off of my soapbox now, but hope this answers your question.
Posted by Alexa (Member # 6285) on :
The arguement against minimum wage I heard is that raising it hurts poor people. Here is the rationale..not that I buy into it:
If you raise minimum wage, places like MdDonalds will hire less people, and it will drive up unemployment for unskilled workers.
Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
Well,
quote:Kerry's proposal, which calls for phasing in the $1.85 increase, mirrors Democratic-sponsored plans proposed in the House and Senate. President Bush has supported a federal minimum wage increase, provided that states could opt out and choose not to raise it... Kerry said three of four women who would benefit from the increase are adults.
6.9 million people are at minimum wage, 30% are between 16-19, but 45% of people at minimum wage are working full time.
Here's one website with charts and data.
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
I had a representitive from Working Families come to pass out fliers the other day.
They are trying to raise the Min Wage here to $7.10/hr.
On the pamphlet it said if min wage rose w/ inflation, it would be $8.45.
*ponsers*
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Jalpeno, correlation does not equal causation. It could just as easily be the case that the minimum wage HAD to be raised during periods of high inflation.
I think the idea of letting states opt out makes some sense, though. I mean, it just costs a lot more to live in places like NY than it does to live in places like Mississippi.
Not that you can raise a family on minimum wage anywhere in the US, though. But is that the purpose of a minimum wage? To provide enough money that a 40 hour work week gives you enough money to raise 2.5 children and have one spouse stay at home when the kids are little?
I think the purpose of a minimum wage is really to stop employer abuse of workers. It means that you can't have someone unscrupulous essentially turning their workers into serfs.
But that's about all it really does.
Hey, anyone here ever earned a "training wage?" What a scam that is!!!
Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :
I live in Oregon, where the minimum wage is $7.15/hr.
I'm glad. If it weren't so "high," I probably wouldn't have a $7.50/hr full time job for this summer.. Payin' for college and all that.
How many states have the minimum wage set at the federal level?
Our McDonalds prices really aren't much higher, if any than other states I've been to.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
But small companies don't have to abide by the minimum wage requirements. I remember a couple friends who worked at a tiny sandwich shop for about $4/hr.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
quote:States can set a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage. States with higher minimum wages include Alaska ($5.65), Connecticut ($6.40), California ($6.25), Delaware ($6.15), the District of Columbia ($6.15), Hawaii ($5.25), Massachusetts ($6.75), Oregon ($6.50), Rhode Island ($6.15), Vermont ($6.25), and Washington ($6.75) (last updated January 2001).
It seems that the federal minimum wage should be the _absolute minimum_ and states can choose to have a higher wage to compensate for higher living costs, not a lower one.
Posted by Toretha (Member # 2233) on :
*daydreams about a higher minimum wage*
Being carless and unable to work in any resturants in town, despite the fact that I'm a good worker, i'm stuck working at minimum wage with no chances for a raise ever as long as I'm at my job. a raise would be nice.....help pay for college....
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:But small companies don't have to abide by the minimum wage requirements. I remember a couple friends who worked at a tiny sandwich shop for about $4/hr.
Not quite true - there's no size restriction on the federal minimum wage. There are some industry restrictions (waiters, etc.). I suspect your friends got ripped off, unless they made tips.
Dagonee
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
quote:The minimum wage law (the Fair Labor Standards Act) applies to employees of companies with revenues of at least $500,000 a year. It also applies to employees of smaller firms if the employees are engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for commerce. Also covered are employees of federal, state, or local government agencies, hospitals, and schools. The law generally applies to domestic workers.
The FLSA contains a number of exemptions from the minimum wage that may apply to some workers. The law establishes a youth sub-minimum wage of $4.25 that employers can pay employees under 20 years of age during their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with an employer. Certain full-time students, student learners, apprentices, and workers with disabilities may be paid less than the minimum wage under special certificates issued by the Department of Labor. More information on other exempt workers is available from the Department of Labor, Wage, and Hour Division
[ June 18, 2004, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: dabbler ]
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
Yes, the minimum wage's only good use from an economic perspective is to prevent exploitation; some people are not good (edit: by good I don't mean how well they work, I mean how well they represent their own interests) suppliers (of labor), and thus aren't qualified to be an able part of a free labor market. In any civilized society, they need protection.
[ June 18, 2004, 11:35 PM: Message edited by: fugu13 ]
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
Just FYI, those peoples involved in the refining of sugar cane do not have to be paid minimum wage.
Posted by Crystal (Member # 5437) on :
quote: How many states have the minimum wage set at the federal level?
Here's a map with the mimimum wages for all of the states. It looks like there are accually a lot of states that have the same mimimum wage as the federal minimum wage. I thought that a lot more states would have had a higher minimum wage.
Posted by fallow (Member # 6268) on :
In Cali it's called a "living wage" as some sort of bogus trumped-up reference to being capable of living AND travelling to-and-fro the master's lucrative domiciles.
Posted by jexx (Member # 3450) on :
This discussion reminds me of the book, Nickeled and Dimed .
I'll expand on that later in the day, I just woke up. Hehe.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:The minimum wage law (the Fair Labor Standards Act) applies to employees of companies with revenues of at least $500,000 a year. It also applies to employees of smaller firms if the employees are engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for commerce. Also covered are employees of federal, state, or local government agencies, hospitals, and schools. The law generally applies to domestic workers.
The thing to remember is almost everyone is involved in Interstate commerce. It's a really broad term.
Dagonee
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
You know...if someone is trying to raise a family on a single min. wage job, I can't help but think raising the min. wage won't solve their problems.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
It took me awhile and a few search detours, but I finally found this.
quote:Grassley concluded that there was no need to raise the minimum wage, because “A minimum wage worker is left with more money than the federal poverty guidelines.”
All I can say is that I would like to see Sen. Grassley try to live on $10,000 and tell me how much better that is than $9,310.
Posted by Suneun (Member # 3247) on :
Raising minimum wage would be a huge help. It was estimated that a $1.85 increase (what Kerry's shooting for, for example) would give someone an extra $3,800 a year.
Posted by The Silverblue Sun (Member # 1630) on :
What people hate to factor in is that for CEO, COO and upper management positions in larger companies, their compensation rates have gone up like 10,000% since 1995.
In 1995 America had like 10 billionaires, and now in 2004 there are 318 billionaires.
Jesus hates poor people, that is why we cannot afford to pay them anything above a modern day slaves wage.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
quote:Jesus hates poor people, that is why we cannot afford to pay them anything above a modern day slaves wage.
No, it's Jesus loves poor people, so we must not raise their wages - it's for their own (spiritual) good.
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)