House moves to boost minimum wage

[Firecat]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070111/ap_on_go_co/congress_rdp_33

So either workers will get less hours, or companies will hire less employees. Prices will surely go up.

Good idea? Not really. $6.50 seems a little more reasonable (the florida min. wage is currently set at $6.67).

On a side note, I know a lot of people that want to work more than 40 hours and businesses that would give them those extra hours, but they don't because they aren't willing to pay time and a half. It's not that I think the 40 hour work week should be eliminated, but there should be a provision that would allow an agreement between employee and employer to offer more hours without being obligated to pay overtime.

 

[cvrefugee]

Great, this makes my current wage look not so good ($8.40/hr). Do people realize that the minimum wage is not designed to be a living wage?

 

[No Boss]

Great, this makes my current wage look not so good ($8.40/hr). Do people realize that the minimum wage is not designed to be a living wage?

Unfortunatly, some people do live on it.

With the 4% inflation rate we have currently in our country, a minimum wage raise was bound to happen. My father owns a business, so he'll have to do somthing about this... odds are he will cut down on hiring, and not lay off.

 

[jetsetter]

California actually has some if the highest minimum wages. In Los Angeles it is $10.33, in San Fransico it is $9.14, and over all state wide is $7.50 but that is changing as it is actually being raised right now.

 

[Ianspeed]

Wow, and I thought he was only a drug addicted doctor!

 

[Jay]

Great, this makes my current wage look not so good ($8.40/hr). Do people realize that the minimum wage is not designed to be a living wage?

Exactly! And also, the majority of people who are on minimum wage are 17 year olds working at McDonalds. The percentage of what is defined as a "family" in the United States who have to get buy with the base pay at the federal minimum wage is so miniscule it could be discounted.

Personally, I think that the Government should not impose a federal minimum wage, it only does harm, and interferes with economic growth. But then again, how many politicians do you know are really connected with the average American?

 

[Cobol74]

^ We have one at about the same level - It is a mechanism to reduce the Social Security budget and make business pay. Even the totally unskilled earn more than can be gotten from the dole. Of course makes a market for the purveyors of illegal immigrant labour to flourish.

 

[jayjaya29]

Sweet, that means my wage I get now should increase, but I doubt it will for a few weeks. Meh.

Nice to see this happen.

 

[Narcolepsy]

A minimum wage is barely if at all a living wage here - people really have to struggle - but having a higher minimum wage just makes an American worker more expensive than a worker somewhere else. Thus it'll cost jobs. More harm than good. If we want to maintain employment - our workers have to be priced competitively - which means a lifestyle hit and the further squeezing of the already poor. Catch 22.