CJ104 Radio reported today that the minimum wage has gone up today to $10.70 an hour (http://cj104radio.com/news/cjn9200_16720_DNS1_01.html) and some people think this is a bad thing! Manitoba Director Elliot Sims of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says that this causes businesses to pass off the loss to the employees (listen to the clip on the CJ104 link above).
This is what I had to say about that:
This is such a crock. Businesses could raise 1 item by 1 cent and it would make up for the extra wages that they are paying. It's an excuse that right wing politicals use to try to keep the minimum wage low so that people in poverty stay in poverty. The fact is that even at $10.70 an hour a single person would only make $22,256 a year and that's without a vacation and assuming that they got 40 hours a week, which we all know is rare in a minimum wage job. But let's assume that's the case. Doesn't sound horrible right - $856 every two weeks. For a single person. BUT of course, there's deductions, which are going to take them down to about $695 ever two weeks. That's still almost $1400 a month. Do-able? Let's consider that the average cost of a decent 1 bedroom apartment in this town (and in most places in Manitoba) is around $600 a month. That's almost half of your income!
So, a single person can likely live off this if they have to. It won't be easy but if they are lucky enough to find a job that gives them 40 hours a week and if they can handle working 52 weeks a year they'll likely manage.
But a large number of people working minimum wage jobs are single parents. They have to factor in child care, food for growing children, extra curricular activities, and all the other things that come along with having a child! And this is not a livable wage for them. Yes, they get a child tax benefit check but that doesn't add much when you consider the costs of raising a happy, healthy, well adjusted child.
If you look at other countries that have a decent livable minimum wage you'll see that not only are their businesses still thriving (because more money in people's pocked ADDS to the economy) but children are growing up healthier. Children are better adjusted. There's less crime. There's less teen pregnancies. There are less problems as a whole.
We look around Swan River (and other small communities where the minimum wage is the NORM for most people) and complain about the crime and the drinking and the pill poppers and the teenagers running around creating havoc and then we complain about the minimum wage going up.
Let's face it - the only people who think that an increase in minimum wage is a BAD idea is the people who have money. Businesses are not going broke because they have to pay a little more to employees. They account for that by increasing their prices each year - a little here a little there so people barely even notice. The individuals? They are the ones who suffer.
What do YOU think about this?
This is what I had to say about that:
This is such a crock. Businesses could raise 1 item by 1 cent and it would make up for the extra wages that they are paying. It's an excuse that right wing politicals use to try to keep the minimum wage low so that people in poverty stay in poverty. The fact is that even at $10.70 an hour a single person would only make $22,256 a year and that's without a vacation and assuming that they got 40 hours a week, which we all know is rare in a minimum wage job. But let's assume that's the case. Doesn't sound horrible right - $856 every two weeks. For a single person. BUT of course, there's deductions, which are going to take them down to about $695 ever two weeks. That's still almost $1400 a month. Do-able? Let's consider that the average cost of a decent 1 bedroom apartment in this town (and in most places in Manitoba) is around $600 a month. That's almost half of your income!
So, a single person can likely live off this if they have to. It won't be easy but if they are lucky enough to find a job that gives them 40 hours a week and if they can handle working 52 weeks a year they'll likely manage.
But a large number of people working minimum wage jobs are single parents. They have to factor in child care, food for growing children, extra curricular activities, and all the other things that come along with having a child! And this is not a livable wage for them. Yes, they get a child tax benefit check but that doesn't add much when you consider the costs of raising a happy, healthy, well adjusted child.
If you look at other countries that have a decent livable minimum wage you'll see that not only are their businesses still thriving (because more money in people's pocked ADDS to the economy) but children are growing up healthier. Children are better adjusted. There's less crime. There's less teen pregnancies. There are less problems as a whole.
We look around Swan River (and other small communities where the minimum wage is the NORM for most people) and complain about the crime and the drinking and the pill poppers and the teenagers running around creating havoc and then we complain about the minimum wage going up.
Let's face it - the only people who think that an increase in minimum wage is a BAD idea is the people who have money. Businesses are not going broke because they have to pay a little more to employees. They account for that by increasing their prices each year - a little here a little there so people barely even notice. The individuals? They are the ones who suffer.
What do YOU think about this?