If you own a small business or a big business one thing you could do to alleviate the gap between what is being done and what needs to be done is to raise your wages. This is a gamble, however, because then you might need to lay off workers, but on the other hand, you might get more workers to turn out a bigger profit and expand your business. The odds are on you side, as mentioned in the previous article, Missouri’s unemployment rate is 4.4%, with a minimum wage of $6.50/hr, while Georgia’s unemployment rate is 4.7%, with a minimum wage of $5.15/hr. This shows that there is a greater chance of more workers coming than going out if you raised you wages.
Also you could write to your Congressmen. Currently only the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York have bills that are currently dealing with the gap between the minimum wage and the living wages of their states. If you wish to have a voice in this matter contact your state legislators to inquire more about the minimum wage using the link provided in the previous articles. If you wish to go higher in the political system here is a site that can direct you to your congressmen and senators.
If this situation continues like this, unchecked, there could be horrible consequences. In Kansas, minimum wage is at $2.65/hr, the projected unemployment rate for 2008 is 4.8%. Right now it is at 4.5%. This shows how unemployment could go up and up until there is something like the Depression of the 1930’s. This would prove fatal to America’s economy, with it being in its fragile state right now. Also as inflation goes up the living wage will go up, and if there is a gap now between living wage and minimum wage, there will certainly be a big one then. Some states have foreseen this and prepared to raise the minimum wage, like in Kentucky with its minimum wage at $5.85/hr right now, but in 2008 they will raise it to $6.55/hr and in 2008 they will raise it to $7.25/hr. Some states, however, have not planned to raise their minimum wage, like the states mentioned in this and previous articles, Georgia and Kansas.
http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/minwage.htm#who
http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm#content
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/employ/livingwage2006.htm
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/stateprofile/Atlanta/Ga/ga.xml.html
http://www.acfb.org/advocacy_and_education/facts_and_links/GeorgiaPovertyHungerData.pdf
http://www.heartlandalliance.org/maip/documents/CensusFactSheet2007Missouri.pdf
http://www.dra.gov/media/article_detail.aspx?articleID=67
http://www.ncsl.org/public/leglinks_search.cfm
2 comments:
Mari Miyoshi
Although people near or in poverty will be helped in the short term if the minimum wage is raised, I think that more should be done to get at the true root of the problem. Raising the minimum wage will increase inflation, since most companies will have to raise the prices on their goods or services in order to make up their losses. While periodic raises in the minimum wage are a good idea to adjust for inflation, by no means is raising the minimum wage every year the panacea for poverty. The government should put more money into education so that Americans can gain skills that would make them difficult to outsource. Globally, teaching people in Africa and South America (places with no minimum wage) certain skills may help to lift themselves out of poverty. While there will always be a gap between the rich and the poor unless our society evolves into a Communist utopia, taking action to narrow the gap instead of widen it is a very moral thing to do.
Your blog rocks! But seriously, your presentation brought up many important issues regarding the way that minimum wage affects our nation. As a minimum wage worker, I can truly relate to this situation, although I do not have to provide for myself yet. Overall, however, raising the minimum wage is not always the solution, especially when dealaing with immigrants, for it limits the selection pool for job applicants to those who are most qualified for a job, in turn, hurting the very people that raising the minimum wage is supposed to help.
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