Minimum wage
From dKosopedia
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Who Earns Minimum Wage?
In a report called, Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers , the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that
73% are white, 70.2% of them have a high school diploma, 65.6% are women,
Nearly 60% work part-time. 60% of minimum wage earners are working in restaurants and bars.
47% are age 25 or older. 26% of minimum wage earners are teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19
Effect on the Economy
There is some debate on raising the minimum wage and how it will effect the economy. If you raise the minimum wage will it discourage people from creating jobs, because the labor costs are so high, and teenagers then wont be able to find that entry level job?
A Survey released December 26th 2006 by Discover Financial Services found, 70 percent of the 1,000 small-business owners it surveyed said an increase in the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour wouldn't have an effect on labor costs. The minimum wage was currently $5.15 an hour. The survey included companies with five or fewer employees. AP news story
Wages are not set by how much the employer can sell his products for, they are set by the market. The limit of which is Ferdinand Lassalle's "Iron law of wages" which says when labor is plentiful wages will fall until it reaches subsistence level.
More good facts on the Minimum Wage
can be found at the Economic Policy institute (EPI) http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/issueguides_minwage
State Minimun Wage Laws
As of January 2007, there are 29 states plus DC that have set their minimum wages higher than the federal level of $5.15/hr. Here is a list of those states as of January 2007:
| Washington 7.93 | DC 7.00 | Arkansas 6.25 |
| Oregon 7.80 | Michigan 6.95 | Pennsylvania 6.25 |
| Connecticut 7.65 | Colorado 6.85 | Maryland 6.15 |
| Vermont 7.53 | Ohio 6.85 | Montana 6.15 |
| California 7.50 | Arizona 6.75 | Nevada 6.15 |
| Massachusetts 7.50 | Maine 6.85 | North Carolina 6.15 |
| Rhode Island 7.40 | Florida 6.67 | West Virginia 5.85 |
| Hawaii 7.25 | Delaware 6.65 | Minnesota 5.25 |
| Alaska 7.15 | Illinois 6.50 | |
| New Jersey 7.15 | Missouri 6.50 | |
| New York 7.15 | Wisconsin 6.50 |
Iowa's minimum wage will go to 6.20 on April 1, 2007, and to 7.25 on January 1, 2008.
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