Who here is affected by the minimum Wage increase?

[Trauma-san]

Is there a soul on this board who makes minimum wage? 

[Just Another Sunny day in California]

nope i always made 1.50 over minimum

[Sparegeez]

Me 

I'm 16 and looking for a job right now.

[swangin and bangin]

Me 

I'm 16 and looking for a job right now.

u lucky, u gona get $8.00 for pickin up after people at a fast food place or anywhere else.

[Ant]

Shit if Trauma ain't making min. wage then those who are gotta deserve that shit.  Dumbasses.

[Trauma-san]

Me 

I'm 16 and looking for a job right now.

So are you actually making minimum wage, or you just anticipate you will be?  I'd bet money you could find a job pretty easily making more than minimum wage, if you're worth a shit. 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Well right now I'm making $8.00 an hour. In 2008 that will be California's minimum wage (currently $7.50 I think), but I don't see me working this job that long.

[Trauma-san]

I'm just trying to build a case here that raising the minimum wage doesn't help anybody but Union officials, who have their union contracts tied to the minimum wage. 

[Ant]

I'm just trying to build a case here that raising the minimum wage doesn't help anybody but Union officials, who have their union contracts tied to the minimum wage. 

Well it obviously helps anyone making min. wage that receives the bump without being laid off

But at what cost to the rest of us?  Min. wage is very clearly a net negative policy measure.  And it often hurts the poor more than anyone else.

[7even]

raising the minimum wage can also increase unemployment and illegal employment.

[Trauma-san]

I think the numbers are that for each 10% increase in minimum wage, there's a 2% layoff of those earning minimum wage. 

I personally just feel like the whole thing is much to do about nothing.  I don't think it helps or hurts hardly anything at all.  Hardly anyone is making minimum wage, and those that are are almost entirely school kids working a few hours a week, statistics hold this true.  Almost nobody in america is making minimum wage with a family to support, they've all found ways to make more than that.  2.5% of Americans make minimum wage.  The Unemployment rate is 5%.  So here we have a policy supposed to help Americans, but 97.5% of us don't get shit out of it, and there's twice as many of us without even a job.  That's the people that need some help!

I see the negative effects of it too, but personally I don't even feel they're that strong.  I think ultimately what we have is a plan here for the government to 'help' people that once again is ineffective and practically useless.  It sounds good, though! We'll give everybody more money! Yay!  It's just bullshit pushed on people to make them think their government is actually doing something. 

Ultimately, it's my belief that in America you should be able to pay your employees whatever the fuck you want, if they don't like it go get a better job.  The Market will force me to pay what's reasonable, and I think the government (like most things) should stay the hell out of it. 

[Tanjential]

raising it, adds to inflation. Whack. and last I checked min wage here in CA is 6.75. I'm at 8.02 now.
-T

[Ant]

It's true almost no one makes min. wage. 

It's mostly teenagers, and restaurant workers.   

Also, the majority of the people making min. wage today won't be eventually.  I made min. wage my first job, but big deal.  So min. wage is really a policy that helps a lot of people that don't need it. 

It's not helping the poor.  Again, most min. wage earners are temporarily making that kinda money.  Plenty of min. wage workers move on to high paying jobs. 

If you want to address poverty you have to create policies that target the chronically poor.  And min. wage actually hurts those people.

The worst thing it does is drastically raise the rate of teenage employment.  When min. wage goes up companies are less willing to hire unskilled teenagers.... thus teens work less, and all research shows  the later you start working the less likely you are to earn a lot and hold a job.

In fact, my two hardest working teenage friends are coincidentally the highest paid of all my friends.  They're 25 and one makes 185k and the other makes 85k.

[Don Rizzle]

wow minimum wage is pretty low in america no wonder it doesn't affect many people, i worked for minimum wage here when i was at school but i wouldn't anymore i'd rather stay at home than work for that shit, i make 10 pounds an hour ($20) and anything over 35 hours a week is double, its ok but its not what i want to do but just need a job before i go travelling, work isn't hard to find. i don't really have a problem with minimum wage because it can make a difference to deprived areas. the bigger problem with employment law is the job seekers allowence, i don't think they should give it out beyound 2 weeks because there is always a job somewhere 1 million poles who can barely speak english have come here and found jobs, and brits have an advantage over them.

[7even]

they want for us to go to war instantly/
but none of their kids serve in the infantry/
tryin to escape from the ghetto, with your ignorant ways/
but you carried history at an illiterate stage/
and you can't raise a family on minimum wage/
why the fuck you think most of us are locked in a cage/
you better off rich and guilty than poor and innocent/
but Im sick of feeling impotent/
watching the world burn/
in the era of apocalypse, waiting my turn/
Im a harlem nigga, that's concerned with the future/
and if you're in my way, it'll be an honor to shoot ya/