Many employers simply can't afford it. Those workforce entry jobs that pay minimum wage were never intended to be the jobs for life. They are bottom rung starter jobs. Your suppose to work you way up from those with hard or smart and even better hard and smart work. I can afford to pay helpers at most 7 bucks and hour....7 bucks an hour actually cost me $10.50 at the least. A $9 an hour employee would cost me $13.50. I can't do it. Neither can many others. It will cost jobs because of that. Along with higher health care costs for full time employees...forget about it.
For one, minimum wage jobs are for HS students. If an adult is trying to raise a family on minimum wage then that is awful planning on the individuals part.
Second, it will encourage students to drop out of school because they think they can get by fine on minimum wage.
Third, it will cost jobs. Businesses are going to hire less people, and cost of goods and services will go up (money has to come from somewhere!).
Also, what about those who have worked at whatever burger joint for 5 years and worked their way up to making $9.50 an hour through raises? What happens to their pay when minimum wage is raised from $7.15 (or whatever it is) up to the $9+ dollars an hour? Are they going to raise his? And then the others who make slightly more???
It just raises all kinds of problems without really solving anything. If you really want to solve something then encourage people to get a better education and stay in school. If anything, raising the minimum wage does the opposite.
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"A society that puts equality ... ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom."
Yep, just let the people who can only find a minimum wage job starve. Serves them right for living in the U.S. where that's the only jobs available. Let them move to another country.
Leave it up to the states. They can base it on what their employers can afford, cost of living there, and skills of the local workforce. Here in WA it's already $9.19.
Yep, some work at minimum wage is worse then no job at all.
I think we need to worry about creating jobs first before we force employers to pay more then they can afford. Driving business out of business and out of the country is what got us in this mess in the first place so by all means let's do more of that.
Third, it will cost jobs. Businesses are going to hire less people, and cost of goods and services will go up (money has to come from somewhere!).
Costco employees earn an average of $17/hour. The CEO earns ~$500,000/year. There is PLENTY of money available to pay workers a living wage for their efforts.
Last year, the highest 1% of earners gained 121% of income growth, meaning that they've more than erased middle-class growth.
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Also, what about those who have worked at whatever burger joint for 5 years and worked their way up to making $9.50 an hour through raises? What happens to their pay when minimum wage is raised from $7.15 (or whatever it is) up to the $9+ dollars an hour? Are they going to raise his? And then the others who make slightly more???
It just raises all kinds of problems without really solving anything. If you really want to solve something then encourage people to get a better education and stay in school. If anything, raising the minimum wage does the opposite.
I agree, minimum wage hikes aren't going to solve the problem. Increasing the cost of earning a earning high profits will. Money has to stop flowing to the highest earners at a greater proportion than the value they add to the economy. Money needs to be paid out to workers/consumers and kept moving, free and clear of obligations.
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We work together every damn day. --Jon Stewart
Costco employees earn an average of $17/hour. The CEO earns ~$500,000/year. There is PLENTY of money available to pay workers a living wage for their efforts.
Last year, the highest 1% of earners gained 121% of income growth, meaning that they've more than erased middle-class growth.
I agree, minimum wage hikes aren't going to solve the problem. Increasing the cost of earning a earning high profits will. Money has to stop flowing to the highest earners at a greater proportion than the value they add to the economy. Money needs to be paid out to workers/consumers and kept moving, free and clear of obligations.
Sounds like you don't want people to be able to fully reap the benefits of being an entrepreneur and job creator... Sounds like you have a winner there!
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"A society that puts equality ... ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom."
Leave it up to the states. They can base it on what their employers can afford, cost of living there, and skills of the local workforce. Here in WA it's already $9.19.
Now, I would be okay leaving it up to the states. That is about the best solution to most of our debates here in my opinion. For some reason, many folks are against that...
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"A society that puts equality ... ahead of freedom will end up with neither equality nor freedom."