Let me share a dirty secret about wages:
My daughter, a 19-year-old hs graduate works at a for-profit summer day camp in the NY suburbs of Rockland County.
Before even being hired she had to spend 15 hrs in mandatory unpaid training.
She will earn $5/hr for 40 hrs a week for 8 weeks before taxes are taken out.
She commutes 30 min each day and must wear special clothing once a week (she has to purchase).
She took the job because she had already invested 15 hours in training and was not offered a job at the six other places she applied.
The camp charges families $800 a week for day-camp and will gross over $2.5 million this summer.
This exploitation is legal because under the law camp counselors are “seasonal workers,” and do not qualify for minimum wage.
When we complained to the NY-NJ Camp Association they could not be bothered. NJ passed a new law making it illegal to continue this abuse but NY continues to allow it.
And wealthy parents, regardless of party affiliation, play a dirty role in this exploitation of young adults.
7
Probably as much of a "cost of goods increaser" and "small business killer" as McConnel's "jobs killer" reply.
As a former small business owner it's pretty clear what I'd need to do to survive and not downsize staff if my payroll suddenly increased by as much as 100%, and in some cases more.
The ripple effect would also mean proportionate across the board salary increases to those holding higher level positions above the minimum.
That is, you can't just leave a supervisor making, say, $16@hour at that pay rate if all their subordinates making, say, $10@hour suddenly got a $5@hour raise.
Otherwise add "performance incentive killer" to the list of likely implications.
While McDonalds may have the resources to sustain the hit, let's see what it does to the cost of a Happy Meal.
But again, what's the small business owner supposed to do survive?
A rhetorical question to practical types. But most likely a question prompting a Utopian and idealistic speech from liberal types.
4
We need more visible press on this. Anyone trying to survive on $15 an hour--or even $20--isn't making it. Now add the fact that half of our government thinks these same people should pay even more for health care. Let them eat cake, right?
6
House Democrats pass the increase in the minimum wage. Senate Republicans refuse to take it up. All working Americans should take note.
5
As McConnell continues to block every good thing, hopefully the people of Kentucky will wake up and vote the millionaire out and some of our good Presidential candidates will see they could serve us well running for the Senate!
4
Bill, this House has passed over 60 bills already - just do a little research. They are doing their jobs despite all the turmoil going on. Read the comment by SMX under Reader’s Picks to quickly learn what they are if you don’t want to look them up yourself.
Dear Conservatives,
Tell us all again how you are the party of the people and not the party of corporations?
3
OK Congressional Dems here is what you do.
Every day.
Every single day when you are front of the tv cameras or on the radio you list and then discuss the many bills you have passed which the GOP Senate refuses to either take-up or pass.
Stop talking about the evil man in the WH all the time for that is exactly what he wants.
Develop your own agenda and don't play into his hands.
3
I believe about 25% of a the overhead incurred by most businesses is devoted to wages and salaries. Doubling the minimum wage will force increases in all wages and salaries since businesses need to differentiate their skilled and non-skilled workers. Therefore the costs of doing business will increase let's say 12-15% over the course of 5 years. This is not the end of the world, but it will increase inflation with its deleterious effects on us retired people.
1
Unfortunate that by the time $15 per hour minimum wage becomes a reality, $20, or $25 will be what people need to get by without working 2 or 3 jobs that don't have healthcare benefits or retirement.
4
I don't understand it. The Republican Party continues to rob the poor to give to the rich, i.e.,by taking monies from health and educational entities in order to lower taxes and provide other benefits to the rich.And, yet, American voters continue to vote for these bloodsuckers. Now they want to prevent folks who must work to sustain their lives from getting a living wage. $15 an hour doesn't really provide one with what one might call a bounteous living. I think there is something seriously wrong with ordinary folk who vote for Republicans. Obviously they don't know what's good for them.
4
Always remember that the socialist Scandinavia countries don’t have minimum wage.
1
@Rich Murphy
they already pay decently well so they don't have to. and to be more precise only Spain and Greece are so called socialist at the moment, in Scandinavia liberal and democratic forces rein
6
@Rich Murphy
Socialist Scandinavia also doesn't have a monied elite which delights in taking away health and educational benefits from ordinary folks in order to further enhance the plush existence of the idle rich. In Scandinavia you pays your taxes but you also recieve your benefits. In the US you pays your taxes and they go into the pockets of the top 1%. Capitalist pigs are aptly named.
5
@Cristino Xirau: Of course there are monied elites in Scandinavian countries. Every country has them, and there have been monied elites in every society since the beginning of civilization 7,000 years ago.
2
It puzzles me that this story was so difficult to find in the Times on line edition. If I hadn't read it in the Post I would be totally unaware of it.
Yet here is the Democratic Party supposedly in disarray and handing the election to Trump by focusing on a combination of personality and policy debates passing an important bill based on compromises by the various wings of the party. So why does the Times not make a big deal about this showing that the Democrats are doing things and doing them without rancor?
I fear the media in the US has not learned the lesson of 2016 and in the name of fair equivalency will try to make the Democratic Party out to be just as bad as Trump. Neutrality and fair reporting rejects false equivalency when one person is so appallingly bad. Equating the recent disagreements among Democratic House members and anything Trump does is stupid. The Democtats, the American people and the world deserve better.
5
So, If lawmakers can "Mandate" a doubling of the federal minimum wage with a stroke of the pen.... why can't they balance the budget with the same pen?? It seems to me someone doesn't have too good a grasp of the laws of Economics
1
@Phajd
I think you need to do some research on the history of which party balances budgets and which one builds huge deficits. Look in any history book or any official economics report. Reading is a good thing before you form an opinion.
1
This is stunt on the part of Democrats. They knew it wouldn't stand a chance in the Senate.
2
@John No, John. The stunt will be the Senate Republicans telling working Americans they are not entitled to the fruits of their labor, only the moneyed wealthy are.
2
@John The fact that there was no doubt that the republicans would ditch this bill doesn't diminish the importance of proposing it and taking a stand for the lower and middle class workers in this country who are slowly and painfully falling into abject poverty and dying for lack of affordable medical care while the money derived from their labor goes into ostentatious mansions, multiple yachts, private planes, etc. belonging to the greedy "elite". If the money was followed to the top of the chain those people could afford to let millions "trickle down" and still have more than enough.
1
Where did our humanity go? People working full time should make enough to live on. Not everyone is capable of being a CEO. Many people truly cannot do jobs that require high skill levels. These people still have bills to pay and families to feed. College is becoming more expensive.
If anything, I think we should pay the House, Senate and POTUS the minimum wage. They’d start singing a different tune and our country would save a lot of money!
2
Imagine an employer deciding to hire an employee to do some menial work in her factory. The employer, after some consideration, decides on a wage of $8 per hour for the job. She posts the position. Now imagine 3 unemployed people who notice the posting. The first, the least skilled of the 3, senses a good fit and decides to apply. The second, better qualified than #1 and a bit overqualified for the position, decides to apply anyway, needing the income. The third, the most qualified of the 3, passes. The work is too menial and he is seeking a much higher wage. The interviews occur and the second individual, being the best qualified, is hired.
Now suppose that the federal government mandates a minimum wage, say of $15 per hour. What happens? First, the employer, assuming that she doesn't pass the work on to existing employees or eliminate the position altogether due to its increased costs and knowing that she's now has to pay $15 an hour for the hire, will certainly reshape the position to include greater responsibilities, ones more commensurate with (and thus delivering fairer value for) the wage she now has to pay. She posts the position. What happens? Person 3 enters the mix and scoops up the job, with the wage and responsibilities now more in his wheelhouse. And who is the biggest loser? Person 1, the least skilled, who is now totally outclassed by his competition for this job and, quite likely, just about every other. All compliments of the minimum wage.
Well done Dems.
3
@MinnRick
Yes. You care deeply about the poor—it’s for their own good, keeping wages low.
Reminds me of Malthus, 19th c. British economist who argued that paying workers a starvation wage would improve the breeding stock (weaker ones would die instead of reproducing).
2
@Jennifer
I care about the poor. I also care about the middle class. And the well-off. My argument is not about being for any specific class's 'good', it's about advocating for policy that actually produces the (presumably positive) results that are intended. You see, like most economists I don't discriminate in my good intentions unlike, say, the feel-good left who wouldn't know a sound argument (or have a thoughtful rebuttal to one) if it bit them, which is why they resort to ad hominem attacks rather than serious debate.
And by the way Jen, regardless of any law that your progressive pals might pass on Capitol Hill, there is one - and only one - true minimum wage. Zero, the wage you, or I, earn when we are made unemployable because our skills are no longer competitive for jobs, however menial, for which employers are forced to pay more than our skills are worth.
It's economic reality. It's hard. It's cold. And it's very real.
3
“Let’s leave freedom in the hands of the people - in the hands of the states. That’s what this country is all about.”
My state has NO minimum wage. None. That’s what this country is about.
2
@Dan Alabama doesn't have a great record on earnings....it is at or near the bottom of the nation. Wages have actually fallen since the recession for the bottom 25% in Alabama, according to the BLS. Low pay is not "what this country is all about." I'd thought it was about opportunity and a middle class.
Alabama does have a minimum; it is covered by the Federal minimum wage. We are one nation, and there's no reason that the people of Alabama should be left behind.
2
Why is $15/hr considered a living wage?
Why do some seem to believe that minimum wage jobs are lifetime careers that can support a family of four?
Anyone in that situation receives far more in government benefits than they earn in their job. Sure, you can say that is a problem, why subsidize the employer etc, but then you have to argue that the minimum wage should be $50/hr not $15.
Some minimum wage stats.
About 1% of hourly workers over 25 earn the minimum wage. About 58% of workers are paid hourly, so about .5% of workers over 25 earn the minimum wage. Most minimum wage earners are <19.
https://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2017/home.htm
If implemented there would of course be unintended, but easily foreseen, consequences. Lowest skilled workers would loose as employers could hire higher skilled more capable workers to do their jobs. Or they could buy a machine to do it. Only those in the most unpalatable jobs might gain but they may already make more than the minimum.
There are a lot of semi-skilled jobs now paying $15/hr or a bit more. Would they all have to pay $20 and up? That would put a lot of pressure on employers and their customers.
I don't think anyone can live on $7.25/hr but I don't believe that many, or anyone does. The median income is about $56,000/yr (going from memory).
1
Can the times move this story close to the top again!
It deserves more attention and exposure than Trump's rally!
2
Thank you Bernie.
1
The minimum wage has not been increased in 10 years!
Have management and political salaries increased in 10 years?
Do Republicans think it should remain at $7.25 an hour forever?
Meanwhile Health Care and Prescription drugs get price rises every year , sometimes by huge amounts.
I guess Republicans want a million or more Americans to earn less than Chinese minimum wage earners who every year are catching up and slowly heading towards parity with their American competition.
Then again, the Chinese have Free or Universal Health Care like more and more countries all over the world already have or are getting.
Not America of course. Republicans have made it clear that Healthcare is a privilege just as earning a living wage is....
No freeloading socialists or deserving Americans have the right to the most fundamental human needs and rights ...
....except to have a gun of course....
3
@Loomy
"The minimum wage has not been increased in 10 years!"
"Seven states have now passed legislation to gradually raise wages to $15, and cities including San Francisco and New York City already pay that much. In total, 29 states now have floors higher than the federal minimum, according to the Labor Department."
I think that would qualify as an increase.
Everything becomes DOA in the Senate due to grim reaper Mitch McConnell. The GOP didn't blink an eye on tax cuts for the rich but to pass the first responders extension or raise the minimum wage is a travesty.
3
This isn’t about raising wages for American workers, it’s about preventing the movement of jobs from Democratic controlled states that have already set a $15 minimum wage to Republican states that have not. Democrats realize the economies of their states are in peril if labor costs double what other states pay. Democrats would prefer jobs move to other countries rather than to states that vote Republican.
I do not understand why this is DOA in the Senate. Do the Republicans only want those at the top of the heap to do well?
2
I like the $15 minimum wage, but I don't understand why it isn't tied to the cost of living. I'm 90, earned $5000 at my first professional job, and could support myself. But experience shows us that all prices will go up as the minimum wage rises, and poor people are not going to be ahead of the game.
2
I’m old enough to remember when the minimum wage was 1.25$ per hr and after a year I got a raise to 1.65 boy I thought I was in heaven. When I retired I was making 48.87$ an hr with benefits and numerous hours of overtime as well as double time for any unscheduled ot above 50hrs. I made about 159,000 and didn’t live as well as my parents did in the 60s. So to all the Republican and trump clowns please feel free to take a long walk of a short pier. I can't even imagine making 7.25 let alone 15.00 in today’s economy it’s got to be extremely tough. That’s why I’m never going to even speak to a trump person if I can help it
4
This is going to kill small business. Big companies being greedy, forcing small employers to follow same rules as huge companies. Get prepared for more small companies going out of business, and lay offs.
On another note, if all of the waiters, taxi drivers etc are all being paid a fair wage, I hope this means an end to tipping! People are no longer tipping in NYC because it's no longer necessary to subsidize waiters salaries!
0ne hundred and ninety-nine Republican members of the House of Representatives are dumber than rocks for their reason for voting against this bill. If raising the minimum wage were a jobs killer, then the past raises were not very effective if the current unemployment figures are not "fake news". The raise to $15/hr should have been done years ago and not gradually over the next half decade.
Mitch McConnell is Trump's Overseer for Plantation America. It's time to raise up. At leaset, we could be well-paid slaves.
2
‘...while six Democrats opposed it.’ OK, is Ms Pelosi going to go after these 6 reps like she did the 4 members of The Squad?
1
The Democrat controlled House of Reps is doing their job and not being distracted by trump's racist antics. Can't wait to watch the Mueller hearing next Wednesday. IDGAF what Trump, Barr, and Bolton do in the meantime.
1
Why does the GOP fight this. Isn’t it just ensuring that business increase wages, the end result the GOP was supposedly work for with the 2018 tax reform Give-a-Way?
7
This one size fits all is typical of government thought process and transparent on part of politicians just wanting some Presidential elections publicity. GOP believes in free markets, in other words, supply and demand will take care of this. This is a waste of time and probably is also detrimental with job loss where economics don't support this.
2
Why now? Why $15/hr? If not pegged to inflation it is worthless in a few years when there is runaway inflation. Also $15 is nothing in big cities and is a kings ransom out in the boonies. The people who benefit in the boonies won’t appreciate it. When companies cut jobs and automate their jobs away, Dems will get the blame. It is a Pyrrhic victory if it passes the Senate and President. Not gonna happen.
1
Like many another liberal or progressive idea, raising the minimum wage is a cynical attempt to purchase votes without considering the long-term effect of feel-good legislation. Restaurants Unlimited, a Seattle based company with 35 restaurants and over 2,000 employees recently declared bankruptcy, citing increased labor costs due to state mandated increases in the minimum wage in California, Washington and Oregon, where most of their restaurants are located. No doubt there are other factors involved in their financial troubles; anyone want to take a shot at explaining that to the 2,000 who face the loss of their jobs?
4
A “victory for liberals”. Yeah, a half way living wage is a victory for liberals.
I can't understand why this is seen as a "liberal" bill. By people making more, it a) incentivizes people to work; b) helps them get off of food stamps, health care and housing subsides and c) brings in more employment taxes. That would lead to smaller government, right?
5
I don't know what's more incredible, that the minimum wage is still 7.25/hr or that people think a family of 4 can live on 25,000$/yr. I'm just glad we're running up trillion $ deficits giving billions to the top 10% and corporations.
9
Minimum wage should be pegged to and float with something, like some fair and reasonable fraction of the median income. Or some fair and reasonable multiple of average 1BR rent.
It should not be left to the likes of Mitch.
5
@Jay The bill ties it to median wages
McConnell is waiting for a recession, when workers are being laid off and there is a labor surplus, to take up the bill.
I think now would be a better time, when employers are still flush with tax cuts.
1
What we need is a strong union movement. Right to work laws need to be abolished.
4
“Right to work” meaning right to get fired for any or no reason, right? The Republicans are better at marketing their agenda. Cuz “right to work” sounds great. Who can be against that?
1
The minimum wage has NOT kept up with inflation - Salaries overall have not kept up with inflation.
Meanwhile the cost of college has gone up exponentially.
Nonetheless, the cost of living varies greatly and what may be a reasonable minimum hourly rate in one area may be quite high for a lower cost area.
I find it absurd to talk of paying fast food workers $15 an hour when companies are looking to hire people to run CNC machines for $12 an hour
The endless pursuit of the cheapest possible labor costs has killed the American middle and working classes. 'Free trade' may mean higher profits for corporations - and slightly lower prices for consumers - but all that matters little when nobody can afford to buy anything.
3
@cynicalskeptic, Judging your comment, you must not think that what Trump said about "The Squad" doesn't apply to you? It does.
1
It doesn't matter that Emperor Mitch will not bring the bill to a vote in the Senate.
Each Democrat in the House is on the record.
Each member of the Republic Party in the House is on the record.
When each Democratic rep goes home they will have a long list of legislative votes.
Republic Party members will have their negative votes.
Republic Party Senators will have the Fred Thompson Post Office bill as their only achievement.
3
This isn’t right or left. It’s absolutely necessary. It comes decades after it should have. But the evil lord in the Senate will make sure it is rejected. Talk about hate - McConnell hates working Americans and so does Trump (who pays lip service only to those among his supporters.) That’s why they made sure that people who work to earn income are taxed much higher than those who invest money only to earn income and don’t work.
2
I ask this question out of genuine curiosity, because I didn’t realize this was a thing, but when did people start “living” off of fast food and restaurant work? Except for the Chef and management who receive formal training, I always thought the industry was best suited to the in-betweeners and the transient. People like college kids, the stay at home parent, aspiring actors and the like. People who want to supplement already existing income, or just need a cushion until their next job- their real job- surfaces. If the model is truly one where people are earning a living for life, can mom and pop enterprises really support this and survive?
5
@JB. Excellent point. What used to be summer or entry job wages are now "career" jobs. The race to the bottom continues. This isn't surprising as our real jobs have been sent overseas to be filled by people making far less than the equivalent of 7.25$/hr.
2
These minimum wage jobs are easy to automate away. And soon will vanish. Everyone is used to self-checkout. ATMs have replaced most tellers. $7.25 is too expensive for McDonalds. People need to learn to build and fix robots. And even those jobs will be replaced by robots. Dystopia is here to stay
1
There are numerous reasons people work long-term in that industry. They may not have the education or skills needed to pursue other fields, they may be limited to find other jobs they can get transportation to, they may need more flexible schedules to deal with care of children or parents. Or maybe they just enjoy the work. All work has dignity and all workers deserve to be paid a decent wage. I make a point of going to small business that pay well and I know many others who do to - and in Seattle they are booming. It IS possible.
1
$15 per hour is $31,200 for a 40-hour work week. No adult can live on that in the United States of 2019. Republicans, led by Trump, won PA, OH, WVA, MI, WIS, by convincing working people they were their champions. That the Democratic Party had deserted them. What are we missing here?
3
Democrats led by Bill Clinton deserted the working class. Bill was a Republican in Democrat suit
@ohio
The majority of min wage earners are under 25 - they are college and high school kids - getting their first job.
1
So McConnell says we can't raise the minimum raise because the economy is doing so well and raising wages would hurt it. Of course, if the economy was doing badly he would say we can't raise wages because of that. The bottom line is for people like McConnell it will always be the wrong time to raise wages. It's got nothing to do with the state of the economy. It's all about keeping money in the hands of people who already have it.
3
You get a raise when you do a great job or you find a new job that pays more.
1
Huh... I just don't get all the "in favor of $15.00 an hour" people. I've had businesses, and had employees, and in the short run I'd pass off the rising labor costs to the customers. In the long run salesmen would show up and sell me a new cash register, lock system, tool, accounting system, or, whatever that, in the end, gave me fewer low paid employees to deal with and a more trouble free life. As time moved on, I hired fewer (to no) low-skill and no-skill people and hired more and more "trained-in-school-and-looking-for-work" types. Why would I train anyone when I could just hire someone with fresh skills, probably younger, and, for a year or so at least, happy to have a job somewhere? Minimum wage raises the bar for getting hired in the first place and puts a trap door under anyone that can be replaced. Sorry about that, but in running a business you compete a lot on price. When people stop worrying about the cost of things they buy, I can stop worrying about it too. Anybody just want to stop shopping for the best price? Anyone willing to just pay, "Whatever"?
10
Why should I, a taxpayer, subsidize your business so you can hire people to work slave wages?
4
If your business cannot run successfully while paying your employees a decent wage, then whatever you are peddling is obviously not worth it and you shouldn’t be in business at all. If your product or service is not marketable enough to earn a profit, you shouldn’t compensate for that on the backs of your employees so that YOU are earning a living wage
5
So if everything you buy at Target increases in price by $3, then the stuff that you decide not to buy because it's too expensive must not have every been "worth it," right?
2
We are talking about raising the minimum wage to $15/hour
very, very gradually - over six years.
But Mitch McConnell said today he will block its passage in the Senate. He says it would hurt the economy -for low income people to make a halfway decent living, or have two jobs instead of 3.
Mitch and the GOP all think that the HUGE tax cut for the wealthy
is simply awesome.
9
Companies that pay less than a living wage are getting free labor, paid for with our taxes. We are paying the difference in financial assistance, funneled through the government.
A low minimum wage means more government spending and more government bureaucrats.
10
It's cheaper to raise the minimum wage than it is to build more homeless shelters, fund soup kitchens, and pay for uninsured medical bills, so the "fiscally conservatives" out there should welcome an opportunity to spend less on these things.
9
I don't know why representatives of districts carried by Trump are still afraid of their own constituents. After all, they voted for him in 2016, and by 2018 were obviously disconcerted enough to elect a Democrat to Congress. That should be a clue to these over-anxious representatives.
3
Is it really a victory for 'liberals'? Is that the way we should frame it? Isn't this really a victory, though vestigial and likely rendered only symbolic by the Mitch McConnell led senate, a victory for working people. As if $15/hr is a lot of money.
And to all you GOP supports who, incredibly believe that your party is helping workers and the middle class, wake up. McConnell will not put this to a vote or even consider it. What will it take for you to realize THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR INTERESTS!
8
Libertarian philosophy is only ever implemented against workers. The libertarian standard is never holds capital accountable or fails to when it is convenient.
2
Where do businesses objecting to the $15 minimum wage think the money will go? The answer is right back into their businesses cash registers. But have no fear, McConnell, the most dangerous politician in Washington, will personally decide not to bring the bill to the floor. Nice going for your Kentucky constituents Mitch.
6
I support abolishing the federal minimum wage and leaving it to the states to set their own minimums in line with the cost of living and economic conditions locally. Setting the same minimum for L.A. and small town U.S.A. makes exactly zero sense.
5
About time! If one wants to increase the income of many millions of hard-working Americans, that's the way to do it. Increasing the minimum wage will raise an awful lot of boats. And, in anticipation of the Republican's objections, as performed by Mitch McConnell & His Scrooges: Like clockwork, every increase in the Federal minimum wage was presaged to cause mass unemployment, ruin American Enterprise and the Economy. But, as we all know: That never happened! On the contrary, giving those making minimum wage more spending money increases demand for goods and services, and that stimulates the economy.
3
This is almost funny.
Democrats want a higher minimum wage, better working conditions, stronger unions, etc.
But they also support the influx of millions of low-wage illegal workers and unlimited free trade with low-wage countries, both of which obliterate the bargaining power of U.S. workers.
The saddest part is that Democrats don't even realize that they've sold out to the Koch Brothers.
8
They sold out to themselves since all they care about is getting re-elected, everything else is background noise.......
1
Our nation continues to support the rich vs. the working man/woman. This minimum of $15 an hour by 2025 should have been as of 2020, at the latest. Having a minimum wage at the poverty level is nothing more than a rich man's law. As a nation, we are so much better than this.
2
About time! If one wants to increase the income of many millions of hard-working Americans, that's the way to do it. Increasing the minimum wage will raise an awful lot of boats. And, in anticipation of the Republican's objections, as performed by Mitch McConnell & His Scrooges: Like clockwork, every increase in the Federal minimum wage was presaged to cause mass unemployment, ruin American Enterprise and the Economy. But, as we all know: That never happened! On the contrary, giving those making minimum wage more spending money increases demand for goods and services, and that stimulates the economy.
3
All this brings me back to July of 1963 when I hitchhiked across the United States. My first and last job out there was with an electronics firm in Mountain View, California. Someone gave me a car but it used a tremendous quanty of Gasoline and the $1.50 an hour I made was not enough to drive to work, pay the rent and eat. After about 3 months I asked one of the PHD's that ran the company for a raise. "How much do you want he asked". "One dollar and fifty five cents" I said. "Well perhaps you should leave" he responded. This threw me but being desperate I knew my California experience was over. My response was simple. "OK" I said. The next morning I was back on the highway first to stay with a friend at Edwards Air Force Base and then to hitchhike home. It was a bad time being February but i made it somehow and collapsed at another friends doorstep in New York City 8 days later.
I still ask people if they ever worked for minimum wage but never have I gotten an affirmative response.
@Allan I did in 1980 $3.25 I think... hard to remember.
@Allan
I don't know what this was supposed to be but I was entertained.
1
What's Trump's view on the minimum wage. First, he said it was too high so we couldn't compete with, you know, China. Then he said it was too low. and then he said each state should set its own minimum wage. All clear now? And the Goldilocks solution, per McConnell, it's just right and keep it that way forever.
1
So how's this going to help the minimum wage earner? 2025 is six years away and the Senate isn't going to look at the House bill. $10 now would make much more sense than trying to double the minimum wage in six years. Obviously Pelosi wants to eat the whole elephant at one sitting. Smart.
House keeps passing the bills most of us support and McConnell will not bring any of them up for a vote. Republicans despise most Americans.
2
Great. Democrats pass a symbolic bill that won’t go anywhere in the Senate.
Maybe Speaker Pelosi should find some better uses for Congress’ time.
@Objectively Subjective Without showing actual work and specific bills how do you expect democrats to win elections. Bill Clinton and Obama's lack of action in favor of low wage earners cost us the house in 2016 and brought the con man to power.
Why don't you go after the obstructionist "do nothing" senate?
This is a victory for workers.
1
Victory? It’s not law nor will it be.
1
Glad to see Pelosi following Bernie’s lead.
I can't believe your minimum wage, in my country your not allowed to pay that amount when your older than twenty years. It actually means that your economy is as solid as Greece or Italy.
1
Just a thought, guys please learn the difference between liberal and leftist/progressive. AOC is certainly not a liberal. A liberal would be Pelosi or Hillary. A progressive or leftist would be AOC or Senator Sanders. There is a massive difference.
These are the issues that could sweep the dems into office.
The middle class needs stability, wage increases, good health care insurance and love.
I pray (and I usually don't do that) that the Repubs fail it in the Senate. That will help kill them. The Republican party is dying and the faster the better. A very famous and brilliant man, Noam Chomsky, stated that the Repub party in the US is the worlds most dangerous organization.
Wait till more and more folks see all the negative policies and actions Trump and his mafia organization are doing to wages and jobs and health insurance and unions. They are slowly strangling the world with fossil fuels and causing job instability with tariffs, etc.
Trump and his crowd must be swept aside as soon as possible. The dems must get real and help the working class; the dems could take over the world with a little kindness. Let's see if they can find some. They will keep losing and losing until they keep up items like this minimus wage item.
Someday a better form of capitalism will arrive because what we have now is pathetic. You know what I'm talking about.
1
Persistent obstructionist to everything Democratic, "Senator Mitch McConnell...said he will not take it up" throwing a wet blanket over the victory celebration.
2
This is the best news I heard all day reading this NYT article.
Wow - a landmark legislation for Americans, working men & woman, middle class, blue collar workers & soooo many others who are under paid struggling to make a living.
Thomas Friedman's, July 16, 2019 article = "‘rump’s Going to Get Re-elected, Isn’t He?" - was right on the mark. This is what Democrats need to focus on not Trump's dirty tricks and rallies bad mouthing everyone who disagrees with him.
Speaker Pelosi, was also right on the mark in her press statement on Wednesday saying she wants "Democrats to shift the focus away from President Trump to concentrate on the party’s election agenda. We’re not having him set our agenda. We’re setting our own agenda.”
Way to go Speaker Pelosi
4
Mitch, oh, Mitch! A half way living wage...Mitch! Where’s Mitch?
1
Why was this headline not spread across the top of the NYT web site? Instead, NYT placed Trump's shenanigans above it, signaling that Trump's juvenile tactics are given higher priority than hardworking Americans' money. This should have been front and center. Force the Republicans to pay attention. Put this issue in directly in front of Americans so they see the important work Democrats are doing. THAT's how we win this next election. Not by giving Trump what he delights in most- attention.
3
No news here. I have only one question the Iranian drone that was shot down, did it come from Amazon or Alibaba Express?
1
Thank you. Thank you Speaker Pelosi and the House of Representatives. Thank you.
This is call governance.
Throw away all tweets and name calling.. and all of GOP. We need real leaders into the government. Kick out all of GOP come this November..
Can you say automation or illegal immigrant?
2
Why isn't this article on top? Why don't you promote some of the good work the Democrats in Congress are doing? Stop shoving worthless Trump stories full of hate and lies, lies and more lies down our throats. All the bills Dems pass may go to the Senate to die, but I for one am sick and tired of listening to Republicans lie on a daily basis that the Democrats don't want to solve problems, don't do any work, and hate America. It's obnoxious. Are you and the rest of the media going to set up the Dems to fail yet one more time with what is at stake? How can you let your organization be manipulated like this? You'll end up like CNN!!
4
This is a very shrewd move on the part of the Democrats.
Come election time, they will be able to point out to the deplorables that it is them who want to see the little people being paid more, and it is the GOOP party that wants to keep them poor.
Lets see how many trump supporters would like to be paid double the current minimum, and how many prefer to stay poor for a person who wastes millions of tax payers dollars almost every week, flying to a golf course somewhere.
2
Wow! I didn't even have to finish reading this to realize what a great boost this gives the GOP in 2020. Self-inflicted wound for the Dems as it will on make the Republicans spend more money to keep them out of power. Meanwhile, this won't make stupid workers any smarter, it will speed up contracting out and bringing in more robots, and it will create more "serve yourself" points of sale - witness the "use your iPhone to scan and buy and walk out" purchases already in the works. Meanwhile, I can make a sandwich and a coffee at home, or, what until I get there. Don't need the germs anyway.... Poor poor folks... Get their votes bought with promises and wind up with fewer jobs in the long run... Hell to be poor. Going to be even more hellish soon...
@Johnny Woodfin fantastic posting showing the right has no sense of logic!
There is a way to compensate for automation that suppresses job creation: impose a tax on automation especially that seen in our retail locations and affect it to unemployment insurance benefits that were cut so drastically by republicans.
Also ask McConnell why he is blocking SB 780 which gives a 50% tax reduction to corporations who move overseas? It was CREATED in the trump tax reform (tax scam) last year.
Republicans and Trump are lying when they tell you they want to MAGA!
McConnell won't let it go any further. If there are no bills or Congressional business getting done it is because of McConnell. The old man needs to be voted out. He has been in the Senate way too long. When you watch a Senator age over decades, it should be a wake up call.
3
Good! Also, here another proposal: Index the compensation of all elected officials to fixed multiples of the annual earnings of someone working for minimum wage full-time. (Example: member of the House should make 8x the annual earnings of a full-time worker making minimum wage). This way, our representatives have an excellent reason to keep the minimum wage up-to-date: that'd be the only way they could get a raise themselves.
8
I lean left, but this is too far. A $15 minimum wage is far to high for where I live (Wyoming). The cost of living isn't very high here. I also doubt a lot of the local businesses could survive if they had to pay this wage to their employees, but Wal-Mart and McDonalds will do just fine. What works for large corporations and big cities doesn't work for all. Bills like this keep the rural areas voting Republican. Dems should focus on issues like the environment and healthcare if they ever want to hold power again.
8
@Timothy Pearse. If $ 15 an hour is too much income for you, I'm sure your employer will gladly accept any voluntary return of such "overpayment". I am sometimes amazed how people who make many times that per hour deem $ 12 or $ 15 an hour to be too much.
1
@Timothy Pearse What is the percentage of people that own small businesses in Wyoming? What percentage are wage owners? I need to know that to consider the implications of the the raise on elections. Do you?
@Timothy Pearse It's all a matter of prospective and remember higher wages will feed a lot of small businesses who are struggling because demand is low. Finally:Adjusted for inflation (often under-estimated by governments) and based on 1968 level, min wage should be at $22/hour NOW, not $15 in 6 years. Some have calculated up to $30/h!
Democrats in name only like Bill Clinton and Obama have betrayed workers and the middle class which also benefits from a bump in min wage. Catching up will be hard and possibly painful for some businesses, but government is no there to protect businesses against the people's interest.
2
The Federal minimum wage hasn't changed since 2009. Let's all request that Republicans in Congress go back to the wage they were earning in 2009 until the minimum increases. Make it a law and see how quickly the minimum wage gets increased.
How would you like working in an economy where the Federal Reserve goal is at least 2% inflation and have your Federal minimum wage never go up by more than 0%.
Enough said.
15
Simple economics. While most of entry level workers are earning more than minimum wage the real goal is to inflate union salaries, not low wage workers. If a small business has to double their payroll on X number of employees, guess what will happen? Either raise prices and lose business or fire 1/2 of those earning minimum wage. It's really that simple.
7
@Jon Galt Not quite that simple, actually- because increased wages also lead to higher spending at the low end of the wage scale. Based on an examination of the data, I can't really find evidence that high-minimum-wage states have an unemployment level that's significantly higher than the national average. California's unemployment rate, for instance, is in decline, and only half a percent higher than the national average, and it's got the highest minimum wage in the country.
2
Simple readingskills, more like.
Min wage hasn’t been raised in over ten years, the $15 doesn’t fully kick in till 2025, amd if you look the thing up, startups and rural area figures are lower.
2
@Jon Galt
Far easier to give billionaires tax breaks and make them twice as rich 'ey Jon? After all, there are fewer of them than the struggling masses.
I suggest that what you need to do is to find out how many people work for the small businesses that you say can't afford to pay, and how many work for corporates who give their executives massive increases every year while keeping the slaves at their desks.
1
Republicans oppose minimum wages and unions because businesses consider both impediments to achieving good profits. That's about the extent of their interest in wages and the economy.
The effects of underpay and of the costs to society that that generates are fuzzy and dream like discussions for conservatives. In there world, the proper way to deal with such things is to eliminate publicly funded services.
11
@Casual Observer. And of course you know most businesses pay more than the minimum wage, right?
No, a victory for millions upon millions of American workers and their children. Also, a victory for all the businesses they will spend their additional wages at, maybe even the businesses they work for. Every penny of higher wages at this level of income will be spent in the local economy. That stimulus will do all businesses and investors more good than the Republican tax cuts have done. But most importantly, it will raise the morale and productivity of those workers and the prospects of their children to do better.
18
@abigail49
Perhaps some people will not need to work 2 or 3 jobs, to make ends meet, with a mandated higher minimum wage in place. Mental and physical health and family life improvements would be some results, and perhaps reductions in crime rates and in the need for welfare.
A rising tide lifts all the boats.
2
@Kelly Great points. The mental stress that comes from living on the edge of poverty while you work even one job spills over into your marriage and your family life. When children grow up seeing their parents work hard for peanuts, they don't grow up with a work ethic and crime looks more rewarding than work.
If high school kids working part time didn't get $15/hr this might pass. For older workers in these jobs this increase could be a life saver. Better yet give every American healthcare!
6
@Dave k doesn't this bill keeps in place lower wages for kids under 16YO and apprentices?
The Times' headline describes this in purely political terms, as a "victory for liberals".
There is so much wrong with this description. If a minimum wage law were to pass, it would be a victory for all Americans, regardless how they characterize themselves. Even Trump supporters who are working at the current minimum wage would see a raise.
How is this legislation, then, a victory for "liberals"?
28
@Space Needle And Trump himself noted that $15 might be TOO LOW and said he'd think about it.
I am paraphrasing but he did say something like that not long ago.
Of course 2 hours later he probably reversed course.
I'm pretty sure, if this gets through the Senate (which it won't) I'll lose my job and my healthcare. Thank you, AOC for all your good work.
6
@P&L
How much do you make an hour? Try living on 7.25 per hour.
1
@P&L You need to read the GAO evaluation and stop panicking. Alan is right though, how much are you making and where?
So the House is perfectly capable of passing sensible legislation and also conducting its constitutional duty of oversight over the executive branch. In contrast the GOP lead Senate is incapable of either.
16
@Ivan. And yet they’re not capable of condemning anti Semitic tweets by one of their own. And yet they’re not capable of changing immigration laws.
2
@Jackson several bi-partisan immigration proposal have been offered to Trump and he walked away last time he met congress representatives (they had a 90 page proposal he had no paper in hand.)
As I recall a bipartisan bill passed the senate in 2003 only to be blocked by republicans in the House (paul Ryan)
Republicans have blocked immigration reform every time while claiming dems want open borders...
It's a fraud. Helps no one--a temporary feel-good sugar high. Moves everything up an order of magnitude, and then it begins anew.
What it will do, though, is move AI along faster. That's a given. Then what, more Bernie to the rescue?
It must be noted, though, inflation is better than deflation, especially with all the money out there loaned to individuals and corporations since 2008.
2
@Alice's Restaurant
I guess you would like to lower the minimum wage or abolish it altogether. Maybe go live in China or just Alabama.
1
@Alice's Restaurant
It also points out to the deplorables that it is the GOOP led congress that wants to keep people struggling.
Let's see how long it takes for that to sink in. I think that one of the objectives is to help the Dems win control of Congress.
With this move, the horse has left the stable and the GOOP cannot claim it was their intention to raise the minimum wage all along.
@Alice's Restaurant
Incorrect - helps everyone that doesn't earn a liveable wage. You missed that.
1
Whichever jobs fall by the wayside shouldn't be a consideration. If employers can only exist by offering starvation wages, then they shouldn't exist.
23
@Dylan
I can't remember the last time I saw a minimum wage employee who looked like they were "starving".
1
@Pedro You have not looked very far or you failed to notice he/she had 3 jobs.
Also, an employee working at min wage is so poor he/she gets food stamps and medicaid which are welfare benefits we pay for as taxpayers therefore subsidizing businesses that pay low wages to maximize their profits.
HOW is that fair?
With a decent income, SNAP and medicaid costs will go down.
2
@Pedro
Most are getting Food Stamps or SNAP to get by. To do this they have to be making an income below accepted proverty level or close to this level. Some are not making $25,000 a year for a family of 3 or 4.
2
I think a better solution is to require the states to index the wage to the states poverty level. If state poverty level is 20K, minimum wage should be $10 an hour and will automatically increase every year. This way, you are not burdening states where cost of living is cheap or the state is poor. Then, the wage in state like CA or NY might be way higher than the $15.
9
@Alpay temiz I am unaware of state poverty levels. I only see the federal poverty level. Are you talking about the poverty rate? Then it would not be like 20K.
Not a bad idea but hard to define poverty rates for each state.
Raising the minimum wage is a band-aide... the real problem is the flow of wealth to the top and this doesn't really affect that.
The answer is a ratio cap on the amount of compensation given between the lowest and highest employee in a company... including stock options.
If the CEO wants to give himself a 10 million dollar a year raise, he must bring everyone up below him proportionately... set a reasonable cap at somewhere around 150-200% (right now its well over 300% on average -- don't quote me on these numbers, I only know we're at historical highs -- economists would better define the number we need to aim for).
The true driver of a health economy is middle class spending and our middle class has been eaten up. Capping the top pay versus the bottom pay would answer that.
6
@J you meant the ratio is 300times not 300%. I think it is 400 times.
Either that or tax high incomes at 90% bracket above a certain amount.
The problem with increasing the minimum wage is that employers' profits will go down and employers do not want their profits to go down.
2
Am I the only one who thinks it's CRAZY to give companies 7 years to implement this? What will $15/hour even be worth 7 years from now?
7
@R it is crazy. We need $15 on Jan 2020 and indexation after that. I'd settle for $12 in 2020 and $15 in 2021.
Thank you Senator Bernie Sanders.
The country needs your leadership.
3
Why not go all the way with this idea and raise the minimum wage on degree holders as well? I know some people with bachelors degrees making a mere $20 an hour. Why would someone go to school for 4 years, put themselves in debt 30k just to make $5 more than a fast food worker? Give the middle class some love as well.
3
@Jordan history shows a raise in min wage will raise wages above it too especially if it is substantial.
Otherwise, I agree with you 100%.
This is exactly what House Democrats need to do. Pass good solid bills, then follow up.
Then campaign on them. "This is what we've done and will finish, with the help of your vote."
8
@Mark Thomason. Maybe they can do that in 2025 when it actually takes effect.
Mitch McConnell and all the other GOP Senators are owned - bought and paid for - by the oligarchs of American industry that prey on and make their monies off of the sweat of their American workforce.
Those oligarchs have told all of their GOP Senators, who are in the majority, to never allow this House bill to be voted upon. It would cut into these oligarchs' profits. It would reduce the payola to their Senators.
These GOP Senators understand who they are working for - who they owe their allegiance to. It is not the American people.
End of story.
6
@Joe Miksis An amendment to the Constitution is needed, I think ,to mandate that bills be examined and voted on within say 55days of passing one chamber.
Any constitutional lawyer here for an opinion?
Obstruction is a tool but overusing it is unacceptable in a democratic republic.
Let's wait to see what the Senate does.
1
@sca We already know what Mitch McConnell will do - Nothing!
Looks like the Democrat leadership is playing to the gallery again. All these proposals and votes destined to be killed in the senate. Looks good, costs little, achieves even less, but at least they go on record for what it’s worth. At any rate, $15 will not kick in till 2025, plenty of time to renege on the promise. Plus you have the Trojan Horse called ‘moderate Democrats’, alway ready to scuttle any improvement.
2
It's nice to see the House focusing on real issues again instead of yelling at the Moron in Chief for tweeting mean things at the Moron Squad who also mainly tweet useless invectives. Let the idiots fight and get back to kitchen table issues.
That said, a federal minimum wage that's the same for rural Kentucky as it is for New York City is probably not the right approach. A helpful starting point is to look at the original minimum wage and index it for inflation - which would put it at about $12/hr.
That's a good starting point as a federal minimum. High cost states and cities can and should enact their own higher minimums but this would be a good door stopper measure to ensure that no states wages can be as abysmally low as the current federal minimum of $7.25/hr.
It's also important to point out that a federal wage of $15 an hour could have some adverse effects. In low cost, low wage areas like the south and rural west, most small employers would be unable to pay their employees that much of an increase. That would kill jobs in those areas and in small communities and would likely lead to even more of an influx of people into large cities where the jobs would be increasingly concentrated.
This surplus of workers would reduce the bargaining power of those already in the cities to extract higher wages or benefit concessions and would likely exacerbate an already thin stock of affordable housing.
3
And the Senate will not bring it to the floor.
Thanks again protest voters!
4
By 2025, $15.00 will be worth much less than 2019's $7.25.
Historically speaking, $15 would be unprecedented. The 1950s and 1960s were the only period in time where the minimum wage has neared or exceeded $10 (adjusted for inflation). The highest that it's ever been was in 1968 when it reached $11.78 (2019 dollars).
3
I agree with raising it to $15, but not all at once...That would probably just cause lots of firings and closings, especially of small businesses.
I also think that a cap on CEO (and other higher ups) pay is a good idea too. ie: the top people in a company cannot legally make more than 30 times their lowest paid employee.
5
@Matt, I'm of the belief that a rising tide raises all boats is more true, and if your competition faces the same labor cost increases their prices will rise also. Will there be some disruption? Sure. A lot? I don't see why it should. And I agree - CEO's are not worth what they take.
3
@Matt 30 times? The most progressive voices I heard talk about 50 times (including stock options of course.)
Also, let's outlaw golden parachutes given to executives bat end of career whether deserved or not.
By 2025, the minimum wage will apply more to robots than to humans. Not only is this legislation ridiculously antiquated, to hold it out as a signal accomplishment shows just how Republican-lite the Democrats have become. Andrew Yang, though he will never be President, is the only candidate willing to acknowledge the displacements automation will cause; everyone else is whistling past the graveyard because that's what they're getting paid to do. Not even Sanders or Warren wants to address this matter because the consequences are too dismal. The reckoning, in a few years, won't be pretty.
3
@Wean
With plenty of hand-waving, the capitalists always talk confidently about the "jobs of tomorrow", without ever being able to specify what those will be. When people like Thomas Friedman invoke the soul-crushing specter of "lifelong learning" as the only way for workers to keep their heads above water, he can never say learning what? Where should we be allocating our resources today for the "jobs of tomorrow"? In the meantime, people are burying themselves in debt training for jobs that don't or won't exist.
These tropes are just meant to keep workers from asking too many questions right now. "Don't worry", they're told, "Keep your nose to the grindstone and the jobs of tomorrow will be waiting for you".
Another Bernie Sanders proposal (from 2015) that everyone poo-pooed as too "radical," too "pie-in-the-sky."
Here's Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail: "“I support the local efforts that are going on that are making it possible for people working in certain localities to actually earn 15." Woo hoo!
The federal minimum wage is $7.25/hour. At 40 hours/week, 50 weeks/year, that's $14,500 annually -- as Bernie pointed out back then, a "starvation wage."
Can it be that the Democratic Party leadership is finally getting it? Whatever the immediate outcome in the Senate, it is essential for the long-term health of the Party and our nation that the GOP be forced to go on the record denying Americans what the vast majority of us want.
Watch for a slew of upcoming op-eds in the Times from conservative think tanks telling us the results of push polls that purportedly show how support for a 30K/year minimum wage drops when pollsters warn people of how it will "eliminate jobs." As though US businesses weren't planning to eliminate those jobs through automation anyway.
5
I had to go to another news site to find out that the bill calls for starting at $8.40 an hour and increases $1.10 per year until reaching $15.00 in 2025. Sounds pretty reasonable, but your headline: 'House Votes to Raise Minimum Wage to $15' gives the impression of a reckless increase.
43
Good point, should be raised over and over
8
I too believed that people should be able to make/live on a single full time employment paycheck, but the federal wage should be base on location on cost of living. People in NYC or San Francisco should be able to get minimum wage of $20/hour but people in Alabama should get maybe $14/hour. With that being said, there should be NO tip wages, Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, subsidies housing, free or reduces bus/subway fair, free or reduces lunch/breakfast at school, no free college or loan forgiveness, etc. Also you can not have a single parent working and trying to support a family, that is impossible to do. Of course I'll quit my $30/hour jobs and go get one for $20/hour. Less stress.
1
THIS should have been the defining message out of Democrats in Congress this July. Preferably passed on the 4th of July with parades and flags waving.
Instead they have stepped all over it, with talk about bussing and health insurance for illegal immigrants.
Still I’ll take it. The issue is out there now, if we have the smarts to run on it.
2
$15 per hour is not really a raise; it merely returns to workers the same purchasing power they used to have.
4
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a living wage. But it's too highly variable by location. Fifteen in many major metros is still too low.
5
I read that the Scandinavian countries don’t have a minimum wage. How can that be in a socialist country? Let’s have an ICE raid in every fast food joint until the robots get there rightful place in the economy.
1
Per the June 2019 DOL employment report: average hours worked by all workers in the private sector were 34.4 hours per week. So, at $15.00 per hour, the weekly wage would total $516.00 at 34.4 hours; not the $600.00 computed with 40 hours per week.
Also, for another more accurate subset of workers in the June 2019 DOL report more similar to private sector minimum wage employees, reported under the hourly and weekly earnings of production and non supervisory employees' category, average hours worked were only 33.6 hours per week, at $23.43 per hour. So, at 33.6 hours and at $15.00 per hour, weekly wages would total only $504.00 per week.
[07/18/2019 Thursday 2:15 pm Greenville NC]
1
Instead of calling it victory for liberals, how about victory for those slaving to serve us at starvation wages?
18
@JFMACC
I can't remember the last time I saw a minimum wage employee who looked like they were "starving".
Yes pass all these laws on the environment, worker well being, worker rights, and food hand human safety so the GOP Senate can be seen voting them down. A Perfectly legitimate Democratic response to the hate rhetoric. Show working Americans who really has workers and the Middle Classes Best interest at heart. Show America Trump is just a blowhard and GOP tool deep in the pockets of right wing billionaires, never really the American Populist. His biggest lie.
4
The minimum wage hurts the truly poor and people with poor skills & job history for the benefit of the somewhat less poor, who are already on the job ladder. This minimum wage will price people out of a starting job: employers won't want to hire whole groups of people that they might otherwise be interested in at a lower price. Teenage unemployment is much higher than in the past, especially black males, largely due to minimum wage, and this raise will make it much worse. The congressional budget office mentioned over a million people will be pushed out of work under this increase! If the government wants to give away money, then give away money from taxes (e.g., basic income) instead of forcing people to be unemployed. Don't kid yourself, the minimum wage is in fact a subsidy, but it's a sneaky subsidy paid by those who never get a job and by employers. Minimum wages are a cowardly way to do welfare; bite the bullet and just give away the cash, and don't stop motivated but unemployed people from improving their lot by banning their only weapon in getting a job: working for less money than better skilled, more valuable, employees.
2
@Immigrant - Read some news about states who have raised the minimum wage.
2
@Immigrant
I'd be cautious with this assertion. Teenage employment was an order of magnitude higher in the 1960s when the minimum wage was in the $10-$11 range (2019 dollars).
It also doesn't make much sense to say that low-skill workers would be 'priced out'. The more likely scenario is that more skilled workers will start asking for much more than $15/hour. The only people you'll be hiring at $15/hour will be entry level or otherwise low-skill. If you raise the floor, the workers currently way above it will want to stay well above it. This has been the result after previous minimum wage hikes.
One can also argue that by refusing to require companies to pay a living wage, the US government is subsidizing business. We pay for medicaid, food stamps, and a whole array of other social programs that folks making $7.25 survive on, thus allowing businesses to spend less on employees. If employees made twice as much, it would certainly cut down on the US government's social program costs. Maybe minimum wage is cowardly welfare, but not having minimum wage means you need more ACTUAL welfare.
WOW! at this time - 7/18 12pm MST - the article is hard to find, in small prints , in the political section as if this was not big news...
Granted $15 by 2025 is no great achievement! Based on 1968 level, adjusted for official inflation - which is greatly undercounted - minimum wage should be at $22 NOW.
It is amazing that corporate democrats that Pelosi calls "the moderates" managed to push the deadline from 2024 in the initial bill to 2025!
Shame on them!
2
The republicans have hated the federal minimum wage ever since implementation, arguing the same thing they argue now. It’s been ten years since it was raised, and if your business depends on paying people wages which cannot be used to live on, then you need a new business model.
2
@Cap’n Dan Mathews
If you cannot live on what you are being paid, you need a new job.
So, raising the minimum wage to $15 would cause 1.3 million jobs for the impoverished.
Well, so far, since Trump has been President, 4 million jobs have been lost.
And 83% of the GOP tax cut goes to them, and they want to wrongfully cut our earned benefits to pay for their greed!
In reality, the GOP are the socialists, And they have single-handedly increased our budget deficit by $1.7 trillion!
3
$ 15 an hour by 2025 ? How about $ 10 an hour NOW ?
Although both of these would have an equal chance with republicans in the Senate , who would be more interested in an indentured servant revival.
3
Thanks to the Republicans who block almost everything with a spec of "Democrat" in it, nothing will happen here.
Mitch McConnell must be held responsible by everyone who is working three jobs just to survive due to grossly inadequate minimal wages - especially in Trump Country. Business owners and executives are getting rich on the backs of their minimum wage employees. THIS IS NOT A WINNING SCENARIO FOR OUR COUNTRY.
Everyone deserves healthcare and those truly unable to work must be helped, but those who can work should be held to high standards and trained to do productive jobs with excellence - no matter how menial. Their efforts must be rewarded, but we don't see it - even with that $1.4 TRILLIION gift to the rich and corporations. MONEY DOS NOT TRICKLE DOWN - Republican despots lie!
3
Millions paid far too little, and Congress paid far too much.
What else can you expect from a bunch of do nothing, recess taking government moochers feeding at the federal trough?
They don't care, and they could care less about anybody knowing it.
2
I blame that "extremist" Bernie Sanders, who is "not even a Democrat", for this "job-killing" bill.
Which union was AOC a member of in her previous job as a bartender?
Does she miss the tips that she didn’t have to pay taxes on. How much less does she make in Congress?
1
@Rich Murphy
Why do you care? Maybe rail against Hillary instead.
"House Votes to Raise Minimum Wage to $15, a Victory for Liberals"
The NYT parses this as a victory for liberals. What baloney. This is a victory for every poorly paid American worker, mother who runs a household, or people holding 3 jobs to make ends meet, and it hasn't been raised in 8 years...
5
I do believe people deserve a livable wage but what needs to be looked is the underlying cause:
-The Affordable housing crisis
-College education
-Healthcare
-Gas prices
-Healthy groceries
The foundation of the American dream is vanishing and yes increasing the minimum wage is important but these other areas need to be looked at. We need better policies in place to protect our basic needs.
3
This hopefully is just the beginning. The Federal minimum wage must be indexed to inflation if it is to be effective in the long term. And it must ultimately be more than $15/hour.
3
@Adrian Maaskant
Can't have that! Then the People would find out that Federal Reserve inflation metrics are wildly out of sync with consumer reality and Republicans and Democrats would lose an important wedge issue. Can't go fixing problems. You have to keep them in maintenance. What, do you want the People to feel like they are in control of their lives or something?
1
Studies point to the idea that a minimum wage can be set to between 1/3 and 1/2 of the median wage for a region without significantly damaging the job prospects for the low skilled job seekers in that region. Anything up to that level helps the poor people in the region by not allowing employers to "low-ball" their pay. Above that level, employers will stop hiring low skill workers. Low skill jobs will never be created; demand for labor will be satisfied through imports from low wage countries or through automation. A smart minimum wage bill would set the minimum wage as a function of the median wage for each county in the country. The economically ideal minimum wage for workers is not the same in NYC and rural Oklahoma. Poor people move to poor red states for the low cost of living and because they can find jobs there. Don't shut down their Missouri employer because fast food workers aren't paid a living wage in Brooklyn.
If Congress really wishes to help lower skilled and paid workers, it should instead offer wage subsidies, hourly bonuses added to the paychecks of workers. This promotes jobs, living wages, and intact families by rewarding work. How to pay for it? Some combination of a consumption tax (VAT) and wealth taxes (capital income or total capital).
8
Keeping the federal minimum wage low helps employers in all the states that use it as a benchmark while punishing taxpayers in states that have higher state minimum wages. Workers who get low wages in the mostly red hand-out states are subsidized by the federal government with the earned income tax credit payments from the federal government that can add up to over $3,400 per year for a single taxpayer with one child who earns up to just under $9.00 per hour. Red state employers know that they can pay less and Uncle Sam will subsidize their workforce. Uncle Sam includes the workers in the blue states whose taxes go toward helping the red state employers.
The fight for $15 can be won in the senate if the bill is couched in language that calls out the red states for the dead beats that they are. If not, raising the issue will still open the door to a serious review of why blue state tax dollars are supporting the red state citizenry while red state legislatures craft legislation for more state tax cuts with programs that require more money from the federal government to pay for the tax cuts.
6
As long as the increase is done over a time period like 5 years, and not instantaneous, this should be great for employees AND business. With a lot more people having more money to spend, the potential customer base should grow far far beyond what is needed to cover the increased wages. Plus aren't employee wages tax deductable ?
this is a win win.
9
@Thoughtful1 Wages are a business expense. They are deductible. They are deductible regardless of the employers tax liability. Employees aren't paid from a pot of money that is left after taxes are paid. The Republicans have lied to American taxpayers about the need for tax cuts to provide money to create jobs or give employees a raise.
2
Yesterday on the Texas Standard radio news show, one of the main morning headlines was that to afford to rent a one bedroom apartment at the 40th percentile of rent in the Dallas exurbs a single person would have to make 16.82 an hour. To rent in Dallas it would take 23.45 an hour.
60% of single bedroom apartments are more expensive!
15$ an hour was a living wage 10 years ago.
I break down and cry on a regular basis that as a teacher with a master's degree I still live with my parents because I can't make rent on a one bedroom apartment and afford food on my own.
If we made all of congress spend a month living on the average wage in their districts, I guarantee you we'd have a much higher minimum wage. The country is run by people who have no idea what it's like in 'the real world' -- aka: 90% of American familes.
54
Politicians, in particular Republicans and so-called conservative economists can engage in all kinds of economic theory and semantics to raise "awareness" of the dangers of raising the minimum wage. This in fact raises the question of morality and decency in this, the richest country on earth. How can human beings in this country be expected to live with any kind of dignity in these economic times. Also, the irony of this discussion is that those who advocate against raising the minimum wage themselves earn income in six figures or more
I recall Ronald Reagan being challenged to live on the minimum wage during his administration. He did not rise to the occasion.
12
@Andrew Henczak
Yeah, and AOC has been there for about 15 minutes and already wants a raise...
I think the critics have a fair point in that it isn't right that the $15 minimum wage is a flat amount that doesn't change with the cost of living. But the solution isn't to vote it down. Just make it more fair by adjusting for the cost of living.
You would think we could craft a minimum wage that is $15 on average, but adjusts up for areas with a higher cost of living and down for areas with a lower cost of living. It should also automatically increase over time as the cost of living increases with inflation.
5
@Matt Donnolly As I understand it there is a COLA in the bill that passed. Too bad $25/hour was not the goal for 2025.
Based on 1968 level, adjusted for official inflation - which is greatly undercounted - minimum wage should be at $22 NOW.
6
@crispy 40
And based on the 1938 level it should be around $9.00 an hour. I can pick arbitrary years too!!
I'm all for raising the minimum wage, but in my state $15 is just a tad high when you compare it to the earnings of professions that require college degrees. However, if salaries for those professionals are boosted proportionally, I can get behind $15. For instance, one of my children started their legal career at our county's District Attorney's office three years ago at $40,000. Given the 60 hour work weeks, that's a little less than $13/hour, with law school loans to pay. Imagine how hard recruitment would be if you have a law degree and earn less than a fast-food worker? Raise minimum wage, but raise other salaries proportionally.
9
@Jen Good point! History shows when min wage is increased wages above it also geta boost with the logic you brought up.
With min wage at 15 (in 6 years!) someone making $20 will likely make $25 or more.
3
@Jen Maybe your child should be demanding more in light of his or he credentials. Every HR department in every company tries to get as much from workers as possible while paying as little as possible. Tell your kid to demand he be paid on an hourly basis. There's twenty hours in overtime pay on the table if he or she can get it done. I have no sympathy for a professional advocate who can't advocate for him or her self.
@Bill
Hey Jen, When your kid gets let go for "advocating" for himself I need someone to transcribe legal notes for $18 bucks an hour. But of course as your kid already knows there are about 300K law school grads who can't get jobs in the law profession...so....
Obama’s overtime protection “regulation”, which would have doubled mandatory wages for certain types of jobs, was invalidated by the court shortly before Trump took office, and my job was saved.
As an immigrant on work visa who needs to keep working to maintain status, I am not represented politically in this country. Media is where i make my voice heard, I suppose, but it seems the stronger voice tells me undocumented immigrants have more right to stay here than we do. In short, such a raise in minimum wage would almost certainly push out some small businesses, and some people like me.
When politics becomes toxic, whichever way we go, some people always get hurt. This might be the lesson here.
2
@Jason Kuang I don't understand how this would "push you out" explain if you read this.
One thing too often ignored when discussing a living minimum wage is the effect that such a move would have on the earned income tax credit. The EITC has essentially subsidized low wage paying employers for years. Raising the minimum wage will mean that those employers can no longer count on those taxpayer funded subsidies, and they will have to become more 'personally responsible' for the costs of their enterprises. One might think that Republicans would back a $15/hr minimum wage based on its relationship to this core conservative principle alone... but, of course, they would have to become a lot less hypocritical to actually do so.
13
@Derek Martin So true! Blue states with higher state minimum wages and their taxpayers are giving a free ride to employers in the red states that use the federal minimum wage as their benchmark. Red state employers that pay meager wages rely on the federal handout to their workers so the employers can pocket the money that they don't have to pay their workers. Red state employment policies ranging from right to work to meager minimum wages are parasitic to the rest of the country because the rest of the country pays for them all the time.
4
$15 per hour by 2025 is a welcome but modest improvement for the millions of people who hold multiple jobs merely to survive---to stay alive. We need to elect a Democratic Senate that will pass this.
The middle class is going extinct. A majority of Americans are now on the outside looking in. To beat Trumpism, which falsely blames people of color and immigrants for the decline of the middle class, we also need to re-build our unions. Passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, introduced by Sen. Patty Murray, is one key to doing that.
Back in the 1950s, about one in three workers belonged to a labor union. Now it’s one in ten. And that decline is a major cause of the growing income inequality and stagnant wage growth in the US.
Low pay, and the insanely high cost of housing, healthcare, college and preschool have left millions without hope. A strong union movement can be the backbone of an effort to curtail the power of the plutocracy that has created the conditions that led to and continue to feed Trumpism.
13
I honestly do not know whether this is good or bad.
I am a postdoc, receiving $50,000 on the first year. This is the standard defined by NIH (https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/salary-cap-and-stipend-levels-announced). That means about $22-23/hr. If the minimum wage is going to be $15 then will the postdoc stipend need to increase 2 fold as well? Otherwise, why I am still spending so many efforts in education and work very hard as a PhD to get a salary just barely above the minimum wage? But if they raise wage generally 2 fold, then can the state have enough budget to pay for all of us? My research used to be cut due to lack of state funding.
My feeling is like the Democrat are having too many 'teenagers', eager to rush ahead and end up hitting walls.
5
@Nobunaga Oda I used to be a researcher in France and was paid barely above min wage. I "only" had an engineer's degree (5 years) but what you are writing about reflects the VALUE most government give to research, and teaching.
I think it is a separate issue from min wage although I see your logic.
Based on 1968 level, adjusted for official inflation - which is greatly under-counted - minimum wage should be at $22 NOW.
Others have come up to as high as $ 30/H.
What was a researcher paid in 68 in this country? I don't know, but taking the same reference point would help.
Having a union representing you might help. Do you have one?
@Nobunaga Oda
And you have a choice, then - do not pursue your higher education and become a doctor, which opens up tons of doors, and work for 40 hours a week at $15/hour, if that feels like a viable option.
This is about picking up our fellow citizens, who are vulnerable, have no voice, and whose interests have not been represented over the last 10 years (longest period since 1938 where min wage hasn't increased).
I am very very happy you are pursuing your doctorate. I am certain that you have a long life of potential to earn in front of you and I truly mean that.
@Nobunaga Oda
A $50,000 post-doc position is equivalent to $27.47 per hour (based on 52 weeks, 35 hours/week), significantly more than $15/hour. Your university probably provides good health benefits, something low paying jobs rarely do. But most importantly, your post-doc is a temporary (3-year) job as a stepping stone to a faculty position or other higher paying job. Most people getting minimum wage spend their entire life living in poverty (along with their family).
4
A total waste of time. Kabuki Theater. Pelosi and the rest of establishment (corporate) Democrats are engaging in what can only be described as crass political theater. They know that NO legislation they support would ever become law. I don't even... I don't thing the reason for that needs to be explained here.
The only thing Democrats in Congress should be doing right now is starting impeachment proceedings and engaging in a relentless 24/7 campaign of educating the public about Trump's multiple crimes, vulgarity, and the danger he represents to the country and our professed values.
Their failure to do that at this point can only be seeing as complicit in the normalizing and enabling of Trump's racist, fascist policies.
7
@Luis Mendoza, Deposing Trump won't change a thing unless it takes the Republican party with it. We're broke...over thirty years of trickle down tax policy have put us there. We no longer rank within the top twenty countries in the world regarding health, education, environment, or longevity. Blame deregulation and privatization. We have to rebuild a middle class and a first in class system of education. Trump didn't put us here. I didn't support Trump. I won't support him later. But the crisis of modern day America was a generation in the making.
1
@Luis Mendoza I disagree: they need to do both.
Impeach (I agree) and pass bills showing the American people, based on facts - not just plans- what they can do for them.
I agree that the 24/7 education about the Trump crime family is essential but having Trump whining about witch hunt would be enough without him also claiming this is a "do nothing" congress.
2
Amazing how willingly Republicans label any Democrat who proposes anything that helps people a “Socialist” (which is not necessarily a bad thing), but utterly refuse to label Trump what he actually is - a Fascist.
21
The minimum wage and fines for various crimes should all be indexed to inflation. Thanks to inflation, there is an absurd difference between the amount of fines and the amount of jail time our laws set forth.
@sdavidc9
Crimes should be tied to percent of income and capital gains. Hidden capital should be confiscated if not properly taxed.
If I pay a speeding ticket if 1% so should the wealthy.
Has anyone thought through the impact of wage scale compression. By raising minimum wage to 15 an hour without raising all other working wages comparably, we are in effect reducing the relative wages of everyone else. Currently teachers in some areas start at 30 k per year for what adds up to a full time job, if they do their jobs. Paying fast food workers the same rate of pay as teachers sends a message. Do you want to send that message. Is that what equality means?
5
@RG You don't seem to know what happens when min wage is increased. History shows that an increase in min wage has a positive effect on wages above that wage. For ex, someone making $20 is likely to make $22 if not 25.
The market seems to work that way. With low union membership it may take a while to see this effect but this is another subject.
@RG
Except...
The 30K teacher has off for two months, has health benefits, has a pension, has graduated pay scales for earning additional degrees and longer tenure... Those are built into their compensation package.
I fail to see how a fast food worker is earning the same "rate of pay."
1
@RG Employers choose employees from a pool willing to work for the compensation that is offered. Supply and demand. A teacher will fetch a lot more in compensation by a school system that needs to lure the teacher away from alternative occupations.
If you want more money....demand it. Form a union. Join a union. Or, just look elsewhere until you get what you deserve.
1
Nice gesture, but it will surely not be passed by the Senate. Any Bill aimed at actually helping the citizens of this country will all end up with the same fate in the Senate. With so little power, all the House can do is hold hearings and investigations.
Only if by some miracle the Democrats take the Presidency and both Houses of Congress in 2020, will legislation that will improve the quality of life for most Americans have a chance at becoming law.
This next election will be the most important one of our lives. It will determine whether or not we return to the progressive, moral values of this country.
I hope the voters in this country remember that it was the Democrats who tried to improve the quality of their lives when they are in the voting booth. However, I am keeping in mind that the Republicans are masters at getting people to vote against their own best interests.
9
@Diana Voters need to be educated about what Democrats have done - not that they have tried. Medicare, Medicaid, wage and hour laws that regulate minimum wage and overtime, workplace safety, labor unions that include the right to collective bargaining with enforceable contracts that protect your pay and benefits are all Democratic achievements. All won over fierce Republican opposition.
5
Will the Senate vote on this? Millions of Americans who voted will lose their representation, to which they have a legal right, if McConnell and the Republicans refuse to bring this up for a vote. McConnell has been a single handed wrecker of Democracy in the United States. Surely there must be a legal remedy for this through the courts. If not, the Constitution is in serious need of a new Amendment.
5
@loveman0 Mc Connell is sitting on over 100 bills that passed the House and, like you, I am outraged.
YES, a Constitutional amendment is probably needed to make a vote mandatory within say 55 days after a bill is passed in one House. I am not a lawyer but this needs fixing because it is a mockery of Democracy.
2
@loveman0 Cut off federal money to Kentucky - a handout state - until state voters ditch Mitch and Rand Paul. Both hate any state that provides for its citizens through state taxation. Let Kentucky fend for itself as long as Mitch and Rand are attacking American workers and blue state taxpayers.
2
Some of the fast foods near me in NYS now have self ordering and payment using a touch screen.
Additionally, as the price of legal labor increases, some is replaced by illegal labor.
To achieve a natural boost to low wage salaries, reduce illegal labor.
Legal work collects taxes and when limited to citizens, get citizens off the safety net reducing spending.
Let's use the free market and rule of law to raise wages rather than forcing people out of work whose hourly contribution has a value of less than $15 due in part to illegal labor.
John
2
@John
Your conclusion is only supported by your opinion.
Wrong on too many levels to tackle here, John.
I'll say tho, one way or another, you'll be paying for people "whose hourly contribution has a value less than $15," whether it's via social safety net programs or otherwise, to help support them to LIVE THEIR LIVES.
The "free market" favors the "job creators." We have toooooooo much evidence for the widening gap in income inequality for you to assume that the "free market" has a vested interest in being charitable to their employees at the cost of profits for shareholders and principals.
(BUZZER SOUND)
1
The free market and rule of law are the opposite ends of the subject. Since we now have a labor shortage the market should be deciding.
@Rich Murphy
"Since we now have a labor shortage the market should be deciding."
That's why wages have been rising at a rate of about 3%. Decrease the illegal supply of labor and wages can rise faster. There are many jobs that can only be done domestically like construction and landscaping, child care, restaurant work, and housekeeping. Wages for those jobs will increase if they can only done by legal labor.
“Let’s leave freedom in the hands of the people, in the hands of the states — that’s what this country is all about,” said Representative Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, who managed the bill for Republicans on the House floor. “In socialist regimes, all decision are made by a small group of people at a central government. That is not the American way.”
Dear Virginia Foxx:
People protesting for a decade to enact substantial material change and improve their lives IS freedom being in their hands. YOU and your SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE in the central government have PREVENTED THEM from exercising this freedom.
You're right. Your way is NOT the American way.
VOTE THEM OUT!!!!!
60
@BB
Apparently she never grasped the basic structure of the United States as a democratic republic with a federal government. We aren't the Balkans.
9
Appearing on Telemundo recently, President Trump suggested he might be in favor of a federal minimum wage which is even higher than the $15 amount proposed by many progressives.
“That’s a very low number, the $15,” Trump said. “And I am actually looking at that…I am looking at that.”
1
@Observertoo
Trump is just saying this to not alienate his base. Do you really think Trump would sign a bill which would increase the salaries of the people who work in his hotels and restaurants?
1
This article lacks details: what will it be on Jan 2020? And then?
3
Waiting for all of the Trump supporters who rely on the minimum wage to start screaming in 3... 2...1
6
Now, members of the self-styled “squad” should turn their efforts toward publicizing the minimum wage increase, passed by House Democrats, instead of promoting themselves. Then they could credibly claim that they’re working to unify the party and provide a constructive alternative to the Trumpublicans.
1
@Michael N. Alexander
Just for you. Enjoy.
AOC points out allowable/legal corruption in Federal Politics of the USA Today
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4779400/aoc-points-allowablelegal-corruption-federal-politics-usa-today
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questions Commerce Secretary Ross 03-14-19
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4786361/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-questions-commerce-secretary-ross-03-14-19
AOC. Erosion of American democracy.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4774694/aoc-erosion-american-democracy
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Questions Global Banks
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4791718/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-questions-global-banks
Great news as well as the many other bills the House has passed. Too bad this will get never be brought to the floor by Mitch McConnell and then buried by numerous articles covering Trump's latest stream of consciousness.
As long as the media keeps playing Trump's game of look at me when Democrats make accomplishments, he can keep playing the "Democrats do nothing but impeach" card all the way up up to 2020.
5
Raise the Minimum Skill.
Reboot our education system to produce skilled people, like Germany does. Quit “Dissing” people that learn a trade.
If you have a marketable skill today employers are begging for you.
7
This bill completely disregards the cost of living between different cities and states.
8
@Lin Cities and states can pay more if their cost of living justifies it. This is a floor level.
Adjusted for inflation, based on 1968 level, min wage should be at $22/h now. And we know official inflation numbers have been under-estimated for years.
Senate won't go for it. Shocker! Another day, another opportunity for the Senate to keep treading on the people.
7
Congress' pay should be pegged at the federal minimum wage.
12
$15 an hour by 2025 ?
Six years from now ?
Many will die of poverty and depression-induced-opiate-overdoses before the raise kicks in in 2025.
And of course, the Grand Old Plantation party will object to this modest, minor increase in pay for American workers.
They prefer feudalism, modern slavery and the right to drop dead from Grand Old Poverty.
Nice GOPeople.
Remember in 2020.
80
@Socrates
YES Socrates, you are so right! Conservative Dem (for his time) Harry Truman DOUBLED the minimum wage in 1949 IN ONE YEAR!
If this is Socialism then that must have been CAWM NIZM!
4
Ignorance is the slave keeper. Understanding that "plantation owners" were Democrats in the south, not the GOP or Republicans is a good place to start. How much you make per hour is based on decisions you have made in life. if you want to make $100/hour, then do something about it.....stop whining and complaining and waiting for a Socialist handout.$10, $15, $20, these are just meaningless numbers that accomplish nothing, even worse when jobs are lost.
1
@Socrates It wouldn't be kicking in as a single one time raise most likely. It would be a series of gradual raises that would put it at $15 by 2025. Phasing it in gradually makes it easier for small businesses who may not have the cash flow to simply double employee wages immediately.
Most studies show that minimum wage increases have at most only a very mild dampening effect on economies that implement them but that's when they're instituted gradually because workers at the bottom of the totem pole tend to increase their spending when they make more so gradually that money finds its way back to businesses. But it's not an overnight or even one month type of cycle so many businesses can't eat too huge of an increase in their labor expenses, so you do it gradually to minimize loss of jobs and business closures.
1
This and other positive moves by the House should be shouted over and over and Senate inaction as well. The population needs to hear this to combat the crazy man's tweets!!!!!!
3
If it is $15.00 everywhere, it should be $20 in NYC. And so what if people have to pay 10 cents more for a hamburger. It's really not as dire as they keep saying because if you do the math. That's $8 x The total No. of workers X the total no. of hours.
Say a place employs 20 people who work 35 hours per week (just a wild guess for a location that would be very busy). That would be $5600. If a location sells 7000 sandwiches a week, that would be an increase of 80 cents per item.
It's amazing how they can keep gouging us on everything else (think the eyeglass monopoly for one where a pair costs $350), but the thought of raising the price of junk food ever so slightly, has people screaming bloody murder.
Lots of things could be cheaper if we broke up these monopolies....then you could afford your $4.00 sandwhich that was $3.20.
4
Now this is the right idea.
The usual suspects will wring their hands, but it's time that we tried a bubble-up approach.
$15 minimum wage in the deep south will just mean greater economic prosperity for that region. Good for them.
A $15 minimum wage will lead to wage escalation across the board.
Businesses just got a YUGE tax cut from the Trump Administration, so they should have plenty of cash on hand to pay these higher wages.
If Trump gave a damn about the rural voters who supported him, he would have tied his business tax cut to this boost in the minimum wage. But then he would have to actually care about them, instead of treating them as props at his rallies.
4
This is what the House should be doing - not the infantile theatrics of "Get Trump", but a preview of what real government _of_, _by_ and _for_ the people looks like.
12
@Bill This is what the House has been doing since the new hires took office. We just haven't read about it or heard about it on cable news because the MSN continue to give Trump's rants all the air and space. If you want to know what Dems in the House are doing, you'll have to check C-Span every day. Sad state of journalism.
6
@Bill
And yet, here they are doing it. Turns out it's possible to get more than one thing done at a time.
1
$15 is not just for McDonald's and Walmart workers. In the South at least, it is also for city and county government workers and many state government workers as well. It is for clerical workers, many healthcare and childcare workers. We would all be surprised to know how many of our neighbors work for less than $15 now.
9
Consider that a large percentage of persons making minimum wage are also on federal subsidy programs to make up the difference. So moving families out of the poverty range will help reduce taxes by the reduced subsidies that are paid. A viable minimum wage makes sense. And as far as China workers go, just how much quality do you really expect from someone being paid only one dollar an hour? You get what you pay for.
12
The bill likely won't get through the Senate, but this type of legislation wins over voters. Keep it up House of Representatives, Democrats only. Then let our nominee next year let all know were for the "people" not big business.
2
We can count on the Senate to keep the minimum wage low so that young people will continue to volunteer for the military's Endless War. Raise it too high and they will seek other work in the economy.
10
We did this in Ontario, many warnings of job losses, businesses closing etc. Didnt happen. More dignity for all workers, able to pay their bills.
33
@Barbara
In a good economy, the main problem isn't people getting fired/laid off, but low-market-value employees who are out of work never getting any work. E.g., teens, really unskilled, dropouts, folks with criminal record, etc., people that really need to get a start. This minimum wage stops them in their track. Besides, the ontario raise was far less by fraction ($11.40 to $15 CAD), unlike the US one: $7.40 to $15 USD.
Also, look to the next major recession to see the real effect of a minimum wage: tons of folks will be dropped (not worth the wage), and will find it VERY hard to get another job if we keep raising the minimum wage. Then they get on the welfare spiral, depression, etc. Please don't outlaw people working for whatever they're willing to accept to improve their lot.
1
Good to see this is front page news. Whether it becomes law is questionable at best considering Mitch's Senate and Trump's profound greed. But the American people need to understand that a Democratic House - and a Democratic president - are all about lifting the quality of our lives from employment and wages to health care to education to the environment. Will $15 an hour help those of us who live in California and New York, too? Probably not much. But to date we Californians are blessed with state and city leaders who fathom our challenges and struggles and fight for us. Let our House continue in its efforts to legislate for all Americans. It is not in vain, believe me. We will remember come November of next year.
9
To many, $15 seems absurd in a global economy, and I understand that, but asking anyone to live on $7.25 an hour in 2019 is even more outrageous.
6
@Jeffrey Gillespie
Those are, thankfully, not the only choices. "All or nothing" politics will grab headlines, but rarely lead to good and sustainable policies. A dollar raise with a plan to revisit in 2021 might even pass the Senate. Adding to the EITC would also be less controversial.
The most vulnerable among us are not low wage workers, it is people who cannot work.
2
@Alan Good point.
It takes six years for a law to go into effect even if the Senate passes it does little good now to lift families out of poverty.
If passed if should take effect in 2020.
3
Too little too late!
This should have been done by 2010. We should be raising minimum wage to $20 by 2020 and $30 by 2030.
5
@Lyle Rainwater
Nah, let's go all the way and raise it to law firm partners and models, $1000/hour or even higher! Yay, that will fix everything. We'll all be rich! Oh, wait...
A classic tug-of-war Democrats play...
On one end increase minimum wage, and on the other hand, open the borders for low-wage, low-skill labor to come in.
Wages would have gone up on their own, especially for the low-skill kind, if labor supply wouldn't have expanded. But then how would liberals cry their hearts out/ virtue-signal their compassion? How would they expand their voting pool?
When Krugman is the economics expert that Democrats go by, all hope is lost.
2
@MS
Democrats have expanded their voting pool by offering policies that more Americans prefer. They swept the House in 2018, even with all the voter ID laws. If Republican policies had any general appeal, their voter base would expand too.
1
@MS
Why don’t republicans drop the bigotry and 90% white males and join the rest of society instead of playing the victim?
Last I checked liberals wanted to legalize and work with the flow of immigrants instead of criminalize and keep them undocumented for republicans businesses. And criminalization costs us a fortune! We could use that money to instead help Americans instead of building walls and incarcerating 5 year olds.
"In socialist regimes, all decision are made by a small group of people at a central government. That is not the American way"
It's interesting that the congressman seems to think that the monied and corporate interests that control GOP policy in this country doesn't count as a 'small group of people' making these decisions.
I'm constantly astounded at the right's absolute disdain for the working class.
9
Unusually fact-based and fair article on the damage a minimum wage this high would do.
1
Keep in mind that a $15/hr minimum wage equates to $31,200 per year. Is that a livable wage for a single mother? Of course not.
Opposition to the $15/hr minimum wage -- or any minimum wage at all, is straight from the libertarian playbook. We can't dilute the income being paid to Sam Walton's heirs to fund a livable wage for Walmart employees. That would be downright un-American!
11
My husband and I know a few small business owners (one is a restaurant and the other is an auto repair shop). We've talked to them at length about how this new minimum wage increase could and would effect their businesses. In Illinois, there is a strong push to increase the min. wage to $13.00/hr. by the end of 2019, $14.00 in 2020 and $15.00 in 2021.
They big fear is the potential results of these increases - while their employees would benefit, they may not be able to afford their current staffing levels, resulting in some workers having to be laid off. Also, prices would inevitably increase to help off-set increased wages. In the end, the bigger paycheck will soon begin to shrink when everything else begins to increase in cost. So, the same scenario continues but with less people working.
I strongly support increased wages, but at the same time, there should be better paying jobs to begin with and not just because of the mandatory raise in the minimum wage dictates that.
I realize it's a complex and complicated scenario. Part of the problem is that this country produces services rather than produces goods, for the most part. We consume things instead of make things. The paradigm has shifted to the point where low paying jobs have become the norm rather than the exception. Whoever thought fast-food restaurants would be the pinnacle in one's work repertoire.
12
@Marge Keller Excessive minimum wage laws have the effect of kicking the bottom rung out of the career ladder for young people starting out and needing that first job to acquire the skills and discipline to advance. Superficially generous, yet ironically destructive.
3
@Marge Keller
So, you would gladly take a 1 FTE hit in production for a saving of around $50 a day per worker?
That makes no economic sense
Wages are one of the many costs of doing business
If you cannot pay that cost, quite frankly, you shouldn't be doing business
@Rick I doubt you have ever signed the front side of a paycheck, or you might seem better informed.
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Thanks for nothing. All this has taken so long that even if this passes, it will not be a living wage in 2025, it's barely a living wage now. $30,000 a year before taxes are taken out, to cover housing, food, utilities, transportation to work, household supplies, a little in the way of clothing in a year, phone and internet (or are the lower working class not supposed to have these), maybe a film or museum once in a while and a magazine? How about a few days a year at the beach or to visit relatives? And all this is if you're not supporting a child or two. Come on, who is coming up with these figures? Who are congratulating themselves for giving the working poor so LLITTLE?
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@farhorizons Living wages are earned by people who exhibit skills and work habits above the legal minimum. Minimum wages should be set at levels that allow youths to enter the work force without exploitation, not so high they don't get hired at all.
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@OldEngineer
"Living wages are earned by people who exhibit skills and work habits above the legal minimum."
Sadly, only in a perfect world.
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Of course, by 2025 we'll need a minimum wage of $20 but the establishment Dems are too timid to challenge the business community with a faster increase.
Half-measures are not what the working class is looking for - and the Dem's timidity will cost them in 2020.
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$15/hour is 4.5 times what the minimum wage was when I was in high school 30 years ago. I can confidently state, however, that the doctorate-requiring, roughly 80-hour-a-week job I hold today does not pay 4.5 times more than it did in those halcyon days three decades back.
That’s one way to reward those of us who stayed in school, deferred having a (small) family, and clawed our way to an upper middle class existence.
3
Ahead of this discussion and with the support of our employees we moved to a voluntary $15/hour minimum wage in our restaurant 2 years ago... the result - menu prices increased, fewer customers came and in 6 months time our restaurant closed...
This type of minimum wage impacts certain businesses more than others - I wonder how much the economists have truly studied this effect.
As the cost of the product increases to support the new labor cost percentage against the revenue of the company - wage compression happens and customers who do not see increases in their wages are unable to justify paying for that same product - so they move on and purchase based on price point and not based on quality.
This is the scenario we encountered
I’m in support of higher wages - however, as a small business owner - the actual net effect put me out of business
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@Economists
You refer to your small business as if you had no control over it. "Menu prices increased..." should read "so of course, we raised our menu prices, and forced customers out of our shop."
If your business was incapable of paying people a livable wage, then consider the idea that you shouldn't have been in business in the first place.
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@Economists
I say the following with full respect of your experience: If your business model demands that your labor force is paid sub-poverty line wages, then you need to rethink your business or it may not be optimized to exist.
As a blue-blooded liberal my whole life, I have supported equal pay and a living wage among tons of other liberal causes.
Five years ago, my wife and I opened a restaurant in NYC, when the state's minimum wage was below $15 an hour, so we got to see another side of the argument. When we did our math, tho, paying anything less than that seemed impossible:
"How can anyone live off this wage?"
We paid them $15 an hour then and now that we're at $15 minimum wage in NYC, we pay them slightly more.
We have had to SELECTIVELY raise prices and cut back one body, as well as ask the remaining team to pick up some slack. The result is that our margins were SLIGHTLY lower and, yes, eroded our profits a little, which directly affect my family and our investors, but that's OK.
It may sound crass or simple, but if an owner is able to make their ends meet off the back of employees scrambling to get to another job and wondering how they will cover their bills, that's not a sound business. Sorry.
My wife & I couldn't look ourselves in the mirror if we didn't provide our best shot at a living wage for our beloved employees, nor could we look THEM in the eye, knowing we ask them to be their absolute best, when we can't reciprocate their effort.
Kindly yours,
W
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@Economists
Unfortunately, 'it takes a village' to make higher wages work. It takes a change in our tax policy, our government's spending and subsidizing priorities, our education system which seems to spew graduates without basic skills and a decent work ethic. I don't think any of our politicians are addressing the global needs of this nation because the solutions won't be popular.
2
As we read here there are some pros and cons to a $15 dollar min wage. The pros are it helps raise living standard for many Americans that contribute to the economy and it gives them a well deserved share of company profits, which are skewed heavily to the rich. The cons are that small low revenue businesses will have a hard time paying for help and will have to lay off employees.
These disadvantages can be mitigated by giving an exemption to small businesses (which should be defined by the size and REVENUE of a company). This will prevent large employers from abusing the exemption and allow true mom and pop businesses to have some relief.
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Cities such as nyc already have exceptions for small businesses, there is an employee minimum that a company has to meet in order to trigger the $15 dollar minimum wage.
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@Aspwn7
This has problems of its own. For example, small companies have to charge customers more and are less efficient with inventory - discouraging scale also hurts consumers.
"...about $15,000 a year for someone working 40 hours a week, or about $10,000 less than the federal poverty level for a family of four."
No adult should expect to support a family, or themselves, working a minimum wage job. Minimum wage jobs are for teenagers. Raising it to $15/hr simply eliminates options for kids to work.
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We live in a Global economy. We compete with China, Vietnam, and other countries and in particular for manufacturing jobs.
So if in China people make $1 an hour, which company will not take their jobs overseas ?
And there is a basic difference between a minimum wage if $8 to $15. $15 per hour is ok in NYC or SF because thats what everyone pays and its only fair, but in many locations it just doesnt make sense !
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I don’t think we’re talking manufacturing jobs here that are going to get exported. This is mostly about service sector jobs.
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@David
I see, so you don't believe that people should earn a living wage.
Good to know.
1
$15 in the rural south vs $15 in the Bay Area.
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@Brad I get it but maybe the bay area will then be more likely to pay a living wage. A friend's daughter is currently renting a room in Berkeley for $1000. Seems to me one needs way more than $15/h to pay a reasonable share of income on rent (30%): over $20/h
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@Brad If you could earn $15 an hour in a small or medium-size town and pay half the rent you now pay in a big city, would you consider moving? We left the Bay Area 30 years ago because we could get a brick home with 25 acres for the same price we bought the smallest "fixer-upper" on tiny lot in Sonoma where we were working the same wages we could get back in Georgia. It would be a good thing to slow the exodus from small communities and rural regions to the coasts and the big cities, wouldn't it?
4
@Brad
States and municipalities can raise it further - this is merely the new across-the-board minimum
1
And this is what should be touted by the democratic party. Not "The Squad" rants over and over. That only detracts from what the Democrats are trying to do...help people. Pelosi and Schumer, and other high profile Dems need to go on talk shows over an over for the next year and carefully explain what they have tried to do.
1. PELOSI:
please please...HR1 or whatever means NOTHING to people out here.
2. Do what Eric did last night on MSNBC and say Health Care, Health care, Health care.
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@dee
Actually, they should go on FOX News to convince the Trump base that Trump, and the GOP, will not help with making a better life for working Americans. Especially after this dies in the Senate, or on Trump's desk, with they same politicians opposing the Social Security 2100 bill.
1
This is good - but there still remains an ongoing problem and its evident in the first sentence of this article ("...by 2025")
The issue of minimum wage should be addressed on an annual basis. Had the House voted for a, say, a 75-cent/hr. raise each year for the last 20 years - this entire issue would not be an issue and minimum wage workers would already be well above $15/hr. (IE: a living wage).
As it is - Congress only addresses this issue roughly every ten years or so. Thus when Congress does take action its a blow to business and workers still face a decade-long gap before their wages are taken into consideration again.
Address this issue on an annual basis with small incremental increases annually - business can absorb these smaller incremental costs and workers can have some expectation at being able to keep up with their own costs of living in the meantime.
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@Wilson1ny
Absolutely shameful. I guess the goal is to give the big campaign donors who "own the place" enough time to replace these jobs with automation before the wage increase kicks in.
This isn't how economics works, why did they ignore the details from the study? AOC is expecting unions on top of this? This is laughable and will fail miserably.
4
If a $15 minimum wage is "socialist", why isn't a $7.25/hour wage, also "socialist"? That's ultimately the goal here, to abolish all minimum wage standards and let the "market" decide how much to pay. Then we can go back to the Victorian "Doss houses", where the people not earning enough to survive on, were allowed filthy shelter where they didn't even get a bed to sleep in, they had benches with ropes to hang on. That's what Republicans are aiming for. No protections at all. No minimum wage, no environmental controls, no health Care, no social security. That's what MAGA means, every person for himself, nothing else.
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That is exactly what is coming.
2
It is great that the House voted to raise the minimum wage to $15 and hour. A minimum wage increase is long overdue. Even though this will not get through the Senate it is good that the Democrats showed that this is something that they support and that could be passed if they win the Presidency and the Senate in 2020.
I wonder if the bill covers all workers though. There are actually two minimum wages: One for most workers and another for tipped workers. The tipped wage is $2.13 and any minimum wage bill should cover all workers, even those that rely on tips. It's time we treat all workers fairly.
16
@Dave the vast majority of tipped workers strongly oppose eliminating the tip credit that allows restaurant owners to pay $2.13/hour. That's because with tips, tipped workers earn well over the minimum wage. In states like yours, where they have eliminated the tip credit, restaurant owners have eliminated jobs, and reduced hours for those that remain. The outcome is servers earn less now than they did before. Most importantly, the law already ensures tipped workers receive at least the minimum wage. If $2.13 + tips does not add up to at least the minimum wage, owners are required by law to make up the difference. Thus, by raising the minimum to $15, servers are guaranteed $15, without eliminating the tip credit.
5
@Shawn Stokes
You are mistaken. There is no rule that says that you cannot tip workers in my state. As for the rule that owners make up the difference if the workers don't get the minimum? It is often ignored and some workers probably fear losing their jobs if they bring it up or simply don't know that the law exists. Restaurant owners need to pay their workers the same as any other business.
2
@Shawn Stokes
Why not simply raise menu prices across the board by 15% and inform customers that "service is included"?
1
It will take 6 years to reach $15/hour, if, by some miracle, this passes the Senate, and Trump signs it into law. Even if it does become law, minimum wage workers will still be playing catch up.
For comparison purpose, with similar high costs of housing, Australia's minimum wage is currently about $17/hour. Guess what, it did not make pricese go sky high. For example, a Big Mac, in Sydney, costs less than one in the US.
When you factor in inflation, that $15, in 2025, will be closer to $12.50 in today's money. So, there will be constant catch up.
Now comes the 800 pound gorilla. What happens to those collecting Social Security? Right now Social Security, lowest benefits is about the current federal minimum wage, or a bit lower. It is quite possible, that while the US takes minimum wage workers out of poverty, they will be replaced by retirees. It did not help retirees when there were several years with no cost of living increases, or increases so small, that Medicare premium increases wiped them out. Of course, retirees could work, but that means passing laws that make age discrimination illegal, can be met with heavy fines, and the employer, not employee, must prove why they did not discriminate, as opposed to the employee trying to prove it. See how quickly older workers get hired and can stay longer on the job.
While Democrats call this a major victory, the devil is in the details.
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@Nick Metrowsky Did you read the article? do you choose to deny facts that do not agree with your bias?? The CBO says this will result in less employment. do you think someone wants to pay a summer college student $15 an hour if they have no skills?
@mmmmmm
They do in Australia.
1
The House continues to pass bills aimed at helping this country. You just don't know about them because POTUS keeps tweeting they are doing nothing.
So far they've passed at least 67 bills with 65 more introduced including
6 bills on healthcare, mostly dealing with lowering prescription drug costs
4 Civil rights bills including the Equality Act and Paycheck Fairness Act
2 Gun control bills on universal background check
4 Climate/environment related bills
A bill to end US involvement in Yemen
A bill giving veterans access to child care
A bill denouncing POTUS racist comments
A bill denouncing Presidents lack of action on Russian sanctions
Violence against women reauthorization
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Wow the House sure passes a lot of major legislation. I wish we talked about these more. We need to spend more time in actual policy and less on politics.
10
@SXM Don't blame Trump for the non-coverage. He doesn't assign the reporters or choose which stories get top billing. He doesn't tell opinion writers which topics are important to discuss.
1
@SXM They have not passed a single bill that "helps" the country, all they do is increase government control over our lives. When Democrats are in office they chip away at our freedom piece by piece. Nearly everyone of those bills you cite would increase government control.
2
Remember when many cities adopted no smoking bans in public places? Conservatives said businesses would close, and the restrictions would kill jobs. And what happened? Nothing. Maybe a few establishments closed, but most simply adapted. We can now go to our favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or watering hole and not inhale second-hand smoke and have our clothes stink afterwards.
Did American business come to a halt the last time the minimum wage was raised? Of course not. Keeping the minimum wage low isn't about protecting jobs. It's about maximizing profit. Yes, some businesses will be affected, but like the no smoking ban, the overall benefit will far outweigh it.
Of course, we could always go back to a slave economy, when labor costs were kept to a minimum. Given the racist and regressive rhetoric coming from the White House, it wouldn't surprise me if that becomes a policy priority for Republicans.
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@jrinsc
Ironically, there are still many place on a state by state basis where you can smoke in public places.
The irony arises because you made the perfect argument why this should be implemented on a state by state basis and not mandated by the Federal government
1
it's about time! Now it's time to pass Social Security Act 2100. I don't care what congressional district or what state democratic representatives are from. If they can't make the case for a higher minimum wage and the expansion and preservation of Social Security then they shouldn't call themselves democrats.
4
Score another for the tactical genius of Speaker Pelosi.
And please deconstruct Rep. Foxx's (R-VA) statement equating this bill to socialism and centralized economic planning. Lest we forget states and municipalities are free to set their own minimum wages, and many have done so already. So, by definition, the minimum wage not subject to centralized planning. Establishing a floor below which an employer cannot go does not dictate what wage an employer can set for a given job.
The GOP playbook is so old and tired.
33
Federal minimum wage could be raised to $10 and then then tied to cost of living index. $15 isn't unreasonable, but it doesn't work everywhere in the US. let the states and local municipalities decide on anything above the Federal minimum wage rate. Minimum wage jobs weren't designed to support a family. it was designed to get low skilled workers experience.
2
@Ron The problem is that wages in general have stagnated (after inflation) for 40 years. $7.35 was ridiculous when it was passed. Reich (secretary of labor under Clinton) resigned almost right away because Clinton opposed raising it - in 94?
Many have calculated it should be anywhere between $20 and $30 NOW!
Starting at 10 and going slowly up with cola was a good idea in 1999-2000, but 20 years later....
2
@Ron: when I was a teen, minimum wage was strictly for kids working summers.....part time jobs, college students and so on.
Nobody expected to LIVE on that kind of money.
My first job paid around $1.65 an hour.
But with massive inflation in the 70s, it doubled over about 7-8 years.
I think we still have "stealth inflation" but the Obama changes to the CPI have masked it, so it looks low -- but the things that REALLY MATTER like rent, food, health care, utilities have gone up DRASTICALLY.
The minimum wage is now drastically out of touch with reality. The last rise was in 2007 (UNDER GW BUSH) and that's TWELVE years ago.
To wait until 2025 is just plain ridiculous.
17