https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 16:58:32 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1392391 Sat, 01 Feb 2014 15:23:15 +0000 anandam 1392391@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've always been drawn to the notion that the lowest paid in a company should be paid no less than some percentage of the highest paid, probably in proportion to the size of the company. No idea how to settle on the details, though.</p> <p>And consumers pay for the wages of the lowest income people regardless, whether it's through purchases to contribute to a higher minimum wage, or through taxes to contribute to social welfare programs. I suppose I'd rather people get paid for their work than paid not to work, but we needn't inflate the importance of certain jobs, either. Teachers should definitely make more than fast food workers. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1391459 Fri, 31 Jan 2014 20:40:51 +0000 MsLipGloss 1391459@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have not previously commented on this thread. My only suggestion would be to watch the documentary "Inequality For All" with (former U.S. Labor Secretary) Robert Reich. It was eye opening (, largely bi-partisan,) and mind blowing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1389383 Fri, 31 Jan 2014 01:14:00 +0000 immabeetoo 1389383@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So I read this thread but didn't feel like I had anything to add at the time. I just read this from one of my fav blogs and thought I'd share. It's not directly talking about minimum wage (and doesn't address @HLK208's point about small businesses) but I think it connects: <a href="http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2014/01/30/businesses-are-swimming-in-money-more-profit-protection-will-not-end-the-recession" rel="nofollow">http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2014/01/30/businesses-are-swimming-in-money-more-profit-protection-will-not-end-the-recession</a></p> <p>@Kemma living wage is a talking point here too. I was a Sociology major and did my senior capstone on living wage and how it affects women/women at work. Lots of people (not just women) find themselves fighting 'cliff effects' where they get a 25 cent raise, and then don't qualify for a ton of services that end up costing them much, much more than the raise gave them. So, I agree on the importance of a living wage but also would want to see cliff effects addressed alongside minimum wage discussions :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1372366 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:46:25 +0000 HLK208 1372366@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think anyone said raising the minimum wage will hurt the economy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1372364 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:44:37 +0000 MrsScallop 1372364@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jedeve: I was going to come post the same thing pretty much.</p> <p>I'm not sure of the best number to raise minimum wage to, but I am a firm believer that if you increase wages, even just a little, that money will be spent and help the economy more than it will hurt it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1372356 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:40:43 +0000 Greentea 1372356@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jedeve: great reply! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1372350 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:37:42 +0000 sera_87 1372350@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Champagne: @pui: actually it's only 10.25$. </p> <p>And not to sound snarky but 25 cents is a huge difference, especially when those working minimum wage jobs only get an 10 to 30 cents an hour raise each year.</p> <p>Personally I'd like to see our minimum wage go up to 12-13$/hr. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1372340 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:32:21 +0000 jedeve 1372340@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HLK208: I think the current proposal is for around $10 as the federal minimum. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1372327 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:27:06 +0000 HLK208 1372327@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@jedeve: $2 more wouldn't be bad at all (I think<br /> $10-11 would be a decent increase right now), $6 more, makes me worry... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1372291 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:13:41 +0000 jedeve 1372291@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Raising the minimum wage is good for the economy. </p> <p>Lets say Joe is working at a burger joint and gets a $2 raise from a minimum wage increase. His boss thinks he will have to raise prices now. But now Joe has an extra $40 which he spends at your grocery store, as do a bunch of other people. Your profit increases, and you go out for burgers to celebrate. Joe's boss ends up doing just fine. </p> <p>Studie have repeatedly shown that raising the minimum wage does not cause unemployment. Instead, it creates jobs. It shifts the profits from those most likely to save the money (the wealthy) to those most likely to spend it (lower income) which helps inject money into the economy. While small business owners aren't necessarily pocketing millions at the expense of their employees, big business employ more people. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371962 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 20:33:03 +0000 HLK208 1371962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Greentea: in no way did I mean I need to budget coffee. It's money that goes into a business, that was my point. If the middle class won't put money into the economy, businesses will shut down.</p> <p>In my town, small businesses are being shut down left and right. If businesses shut down, there won't be jobs, there won't be a barista, who makes minimum wage, to serve a middle class person that one coffee (maybe per month) which is a splurge for them. And trust me, I was a barista who made minimum wage when I had DS, I struggled to get by, while going to college full time. I get that raising the minimum wage is helpful but will there even be a line between lower class and middle class if the minimum wage is raised by so much? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371601 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 19:06:48 +0000 dojo 1371601@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think this is a tough one and I'm somewhat torn. I feel it should be raised since it is hardly close to a livable wage and one issue is that people in these positions are not just students/young people/people working an extra job etc. My sister has a college degree and in her position (a retail store but not with any any additional commission) she only makes a little bit more than the minimum wage - it's not enough. At the same time if raising the minimum wage raises the costs of living overall it would make it harder on families like my own since our pay would not increase along with it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371568 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 18:54:20 +0000 Greentea 1371568@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@loveisstrange: I agree! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371563 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 18:52:46 +0000 Greentea 1371563@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: I agree with you. Thank you for your thoughtful comment.</p> <p> I think the viewpoint is somewhat distorted... "we have to budget so we can drink coffee and drive new cars" is worlds away from the people working hard to support families and just barely feed them or keep the heat on and living in rough parts of town... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371423 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:56:11 +0000 Kemma 1371423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There's a lot if talk in NZ and England (I think) at the moment about the concept of a "living wage". The idea is that it's an hourly rate based on a single person working 40-45 hours per week (or a family with two adults working a combined 60-70 hours per week) and living a simple lifestyle but providing for them to make a worthwhile contribution to the community. The figure in NZ equates to around $18-19 per hour and it is not linked to minimum wage which is about $14 over here.</p> <p>Personally, I believe that an adult working full time in an honest occupation shouldn't need to rely on welfare or state assistance to survive. And at the end of the day, minimum wage jobs will always exist and society will always need people to work them! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371419 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:55:24 +0000 MrsEmm 1371419@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HLK208: I haven't read all the comments yet but just wanted to say that I live in a place where minimum wage is high ($16-18 or something like that). To answer your concern about prices- I'd be happy if burgers were only $10! Coffee is more than $4. Want to get a sandwich at a cafe for lunch? $15 please... And let's not even talk about groceries. I know it sounds bad, but raising the minimum wage too much only pushes up the cost of living - it has a ripple effect on all incomes and then everything suddenly becomes more expensive. So we all make more money over here, but we're not really that much better off. It's all relative. I think minimum wage should be raised to keep pace with increase in incomes overall though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371390 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:45:19 +0000 Kemma 1371390@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Maysprout: I haven't read through the comments but I totally agree!</p> <p>Higher wages mean that employees spend more in their communities because the people that benefit most rom any increase aren't likely to be saving the extra money, they're probably spending it on groceries and utilities! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371380 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:41:38 +0000 googly-eyes 1371380@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know, and I haven't read all the comments, but I will say that I think $15 is high. From my understanding the cost would be passed to consumers. So people who got raises would be better off in the short term but not necessarily in the long run, and those who make a little more than minimum wage would be worse off. Then there's the question of layoffs. I don't know the answer to all of this as I'm not an economist but $15 just seems high. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371322 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:22:07 +0000 sunny 1371322@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Maysprout: I think if you limited CEO salaries like that, you would just create a system where the money gets accounted for differently. </p> <p>According to this article (<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-30/ceo-pay-1-795-to-1-multiple-of-workers-skirts-law-as-sec-delays.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-30/ceo-pay-1-795-to-1-multiple-of-workers-skirts-law-as-sec-delays.html</a>) 90% of compensation was in multi-year vesting stock for 2 specific CEOs. If you change accounting rules to account for the stock in the year it vests, you change the picture drastically. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371319 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:20:35 +0000 MsMamaBear 1371319@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In GA, it's $7.25. I think it should be at least $10. Then, people could afford ACA, since they won't expand Medicaid here. Those people are pretty much up shit creek. (They might not be approve for Medicaid to begin with, then with the ACA. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371318 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:20:08 +0000 Freckles 1371318@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Champagne: My parents owned a small business and $10/hour was the lowest amount they paid their workers before the min wage hike came into effect. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371317 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:18:30 +0000 Freckles 1371317@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sunny: Menu prices are going to go up regardless of whether the minimum wage goes up. Also, there's some research that shows that increase in wages doesn't necessarily lead to job loss: <a href="http://www.irle.berkeley.edu/workingpapers/181-09.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.irle.berkeley.edu/workingpapers/181-09.pdf</a><br /> <a href="http://www.irle.berkeley.edu/workingpapers/157-07.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.irle.berkeley.edu/workingpapers/157-07.pdf</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371304 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:13:10 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 1371304@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In Ontario it is $10.50/hour. I've talked to a few clients (small business owners) about what would happen if there was an increase. Many said they'd have to decrease staff hours/lay people off. This is mostly from those in the retail business. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371303 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:12:29 +0000 TemperanceBrennan 1371303@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: You are definitely right, but the shareholders shouldn't be the ones making the rules for a free market. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371298 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:10:02 +0000 Maysprout 1371298@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: It's not a cap in earnings though, it's just saying some of the benefit has to go to more than just the man at the top.<br /> The one in Switzerland wanted it to be a 1:12 ratio, which I agree is a bit extreme but I don't see the problem with a 1:100 ratio. </p> <p>But on average in the US it's more like a 350:1 . Seems a bit ludicrous for all the profits to be going to the top, especially when their workers are taking up federal tax dollars in low wage support programs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371289 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:08:18 +0000 Freckles 1371289@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HLK208: @looch: I agree with that too, but we all know what kind of response that sentiment gets (not on HB, but in the US). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371288 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:07:57 +0000 sunny 1371288@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@TemperanceBrennan: In my opinion, I don't think CEO pay has anything to do with a small business being put of of business by higher minimum wages. Typically the outrage over CEO pay has been with big Fortune 500 companies and not small businesses. </p> <p>Reducing a CEO's pay at McDonalds' wouldn't change the price of hamburgers very much (especially given that most stores are franchises and not company owned) while pushing the min wage to $15/hr would cause the price of all menu items to go up and probably cause demand to go down. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371286 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:06:39 +0000 looch 1371286@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HLK208: I agree with that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371285 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:06:03 +0000 HLK208 1371285@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@TemperanceBrennan: ideally, that would be awesome but I don't think it would turn out well. I watched a video about the wealth in America...it was mind boggling, actually, Rainbow Sprinkles posted it on FB - let me try to find it...<br /> <a href="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7MMfdpn6FUM&#038;desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7MMfdpn6FUM" rel="nofollow">http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7MMfdpn6FUM&#038;desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7MMfdpn6FUM</a></p> <p>@looch: yes, but I still think the wealthy need to be taxed more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be/page/2#post-1371283 Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:05:26 +0000 looch 1371283@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@TemperanceBrennan: which isn't usually acceptable to shareholders. </p>