draft III
I recently met a fellow who adamantly claims that when minimum wages rise, prices for everything else will almost immediately double. I think he should do a little fact-checking. First, companies generally don’t want to drive themselves out of business. Prices for many businesses with lots of workers who will be paid the new $12 an hour are more apt to raise their charges by 5 to 10%, if at all. Second; food, rent and utility costs didn’t double in any of the other 29 states who raised their minimums.
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It’s sad that, instead of determining ways to
encourage workers to use more empowerment, innovation, imagination and
teamwork, some employers in anticipation of the $12 raise are focusing their
energy on exaggerating how much this will hurt them, while looking to trim work
hours, and seeking exceptions or loopholes. (I do agree that an immediate $15
an hour would injure some companies.)
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Indeed, it’s less of a societal failure when more of
our industry leaders realize that higher wages often translate into better worker
stability and even increased loyalty. Employers will be likely to see less
costly worker turnover when their staff receive something approaching a
living wage. Maintaining experienced employees with institutional memories saves
on training costs, lessens work errors, reduces paperwork and makes for
improved work atmospheres.
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Recently at my minimum wage workplace our paychecks
were delayed due to an accounting error. For some this may seem like a minor
nuisance, but for many of us, our anxiety level rose with the continuing uncertainty
of when we might be paid. Concerned work colleagues started canceling weekend
plans and worried about late charges for utilities, which affects credit
ratings. (Fortunately our checks showed up in the nick of time.)
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Many people who have never experienced being absolutely
broke don’t realize how large a difference it is to have $300 versus owning zero
money. Everything comes to a standstill.
Suddenly, we don’t have enough to buy toothpaste and Raman
noodles, and have trouble deciding whether we should do laundry or save
the coins for the work-bus. The minimum wage raise will help immensely
with our efforts to get
unstuck.
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I think Gov. Wolf’s proposal to raise the wage to
$12 and then yearly 50 cent increments is right on track, considering that we’re experiencing a good economy;
that the wage has not kept up with the inflation of the last ten years, and
that this long overdue earned increase would give dedicated workers better
chances to flourish and shine for their companies and for themselves and families.
JB
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