Results 1 to 7 of 7
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07-06-2009, 09:27 PM #1
Higher minimum wage coming soon
Higher minimum wage coming soon
The federal minimum wage is set to increase later this month as the job market shows signs of further decay.
The federal minimum wage will go to $7.25 an hour on July 24 from its current level of $6.55, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The impact will be felt in 29 states, and many of them plan to match the federal minimum when it goes through.
Seven states already have laws mandating $7.25 minimum pay, while 14 states and Washington, D.C., exceed the new minimum. Employers are required to pay whichever is the highest: Federal or state...
...But the next increase is set to occur as the job market is reeling under high unemployment and ongoing payroll cuts.
Unemployment has increased for nine months straight, achieving a 26-year high of 9.5% in June, according to the Labor Department...
...John Lonski, chief economist for Moody's Investors Service, said the hike in the minimum wage is "going against the grain" of the economy, and that the job market might not be able to absorb the mandated increase.
"You wonder if this might be a little too much for certain employers to shoulder, especially in a time that's been marked by a decline in business sales," said Lonski. "This might actually delay the return of job growth."
The minimum wage increase will be felt most acutely by employers at restaurants, especially fast food, and also the hard-hit retail sector, according to Lonski.
"We've seen a loss of jobs in retailing, and this latest hike in the minimum wage will add to the difficulty of stabilizing employment in industries that are dependent on lesser paid workers," he said.
Just another example that Obama, Pelosi, and pals don't understand the fundamentals of economics. They're trying to help low-income families make more money...by making it cost more for companies to hire and/or retain employees at a time where retail sales are already very much struggling. Simple economic lesson: Companies are already losing a lot of money due to economic woes...unemployment is already ridiculously high...companies are trying their best to keep reasonable profits for their shareholders (or turn a profit at all in many situations)...so raising their payroll costs means they will either hire less or downsize more. They're not going to just say "oh well, I guess we're going to make even less money now" and continue on without any action to counteract this rise in cost. How is that so hard for the Democratic leadership to understand?
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07-06-2009, 10:05 PM #2
Wasn't this passed before Obama took office?
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07-06-2009, 10:52 PM #3
Yes, in 2007. But it has Obama's full support, he voted for it of course and he even stated during his campaign he would like to have the minimum wage raised to $9.50 by 2011. And considering all the new measures being taken in the name of helping the economy, I'm sure something could be done to postpone or rescind this current increase if it was so desired. They would have the Republicans full support of course, so they wouldn't even need that many Democrat votes.
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07-06-2009, 10:59 PM #4
Ok, gotcha. I do agree with your points in post 1. My employer has done exactly that...hired less employees due to decreasing sales and higher payroll. $9.50 by 2011 is nuts! We were at $5 just 10 years ago, right?
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07-06-2009, 11:08 PM #5
Actually it was $5.15 for almost 10 years before the increases were voted in 2007. The approved increase was in three increments...up to $5.65 in 2007, $6.55 last year (I think that's the right number), and then the final one this year. So just 2 years ago it was $5.15 and he proposes to basically an over $4 increase in 4 years...he says he's going to keep jobs in America, but everything he does is counterproductive to that end.
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07-06-2009, 11:11 PM #6
haha wow. Felt like we've been at $6.55 for a few years.
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07-06-2009, 11:15 PM #7
Yes it was passed long before Obama was in office back in 2007. Pelosi did it back then
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Originally Posted by OnePimpTiger 
