SB13 - Labor; minimum wage law; substantive/comprehensive reform of provisions
SB13 - Labor; minimum wage law; substantive/comprehensive reform of provisions
Sponsored by:
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial relations, so as to provide for a substantive and comprehensive reform of provisions regarding the minimum wage law; to provide for legislative findings; to provide for an increase in the minimum wage; to provide for annual minimum wage increases to match the rising cost of living; to provide a credit toward the minimum wage for employers of tipped workers; to eliminate various eligibility exemptions from the minimum wage; to provide for related matters; to provide for severability; to provide an effective date and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
January 5th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
There are two basic problems with a minimum wage increase.
The minimum wage applies to very few people. If the minimum wage is kept low, it encourages workers to work hard to raise themselves. Currently, the majority of people earning the minimum wage work less than 40 hours per week.
The wage in some union contracts is tied to the minimum wage. Some workers who earn 2, 3, or 4 times the minimum wage will get substantial raises if the minimum wage is increased. This becomes inflationary very quickly.
January 10th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Agreed. Minimum wage jobs are usually for entry level or part-time positions, with experience wages rise.
Raising the rate by force will REDUCE the number of jobs, as business cannot simply print money, what 10 employees previously did, after mandatory wage hikes that might be reduced to 7.
Less jobs = less REVENUE for the government, with the state now forced to support displaced workers. That forces the state to raise taxes in an attempt to recover the costs, with the increase actually reducing revenues. Catch-22.
Raising the rate spurs inflation, as the embedded cost of almost every article will rise - every business in the supply chain will pass on the associated costs.
Raising the rate will reduce to purchasing power of every dollar earned. An individual might now make a few dollars more, but that’s easily offset by the higher prices they’re forced to pay for other products such as food, clothing etc, as well as higher taxes.
Keep the government out of private enterprise.