Minimum wage raise in increments is best

Minimum Wage Raise in Increments is best
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I recently met a fellow who adamantly claims that when minimum wages rise, prices for everything else will 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 some businesses with lots of workers 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 minimum.  

It’s sad that, instead of determining ways to encourage workers to use more empowerment, innovativeness, imagination and teamwork, some employers in anticipation of the raise are focusing their energy on how to trim worker hours, while looking for exceptions and loopholes.

Indeed, it’s less of a societal failure when our leaders of industry realize that higher wages can translate into worker stability and even loyalty. Employers will be apt to see less costly worker turnover when their workers receive something approaching a living wage. Maintaining experienced workers with institutional memories saves on training costs, lessens work errors, reduces paperwork and makes for a better work atmosphere. 

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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.  Don’t have enough to buy toothpaste, Raman noodles or work bus fare. The minimum wage raise will help us 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 would give dedicated workers better chances to flourish and shine.

Reference:https://www.apnews.com/9bed3bde87cd46dbbe2ba7a81b782abd

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