[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

MAGA Protest

The Floodgates Are Breaking In Germany's Welfare State

“The government wants to make sure that that does not come out. A huge part of our political system is predicated on blackmail,”

You Know What Happens Next

Cash Jordan: Half-Built Tower Abandoned… as ICE Deports Entire ‘Migrant Workforce’

Heavy rainfall causes flash flooding Tuesday night, some cars stuck in high water on Chicago's West

Biden Doctor PLEADS THE FIFTH, Refuses To Testify To Congress, Biden Pardons ARE VOID

Joe Rogan says FBI director Kash Patel played him for a fool and maga for fools with the Jeff Epstein files

Elon's AI System "Grok" Went Rogue And Has Been SHUT DOWN in an Emergency!

Earthquake Swarms at One of the MOST DANGEROUS Volcanoes in the USA

Ben Shapiro Declares Epstein Case CLOSED: ‘Facts on the Ground Have Changed’

Iran receives 40 Chinese J10-C Fighter Jets

China’s Railgun Is Now Battle-Ready, Thanks to Nuclear Power

Chinese Hypersonic Advancements! Deadly new missile could decimate entire US fleet in 20 minutes

Iran Confirms Massive Chinese HQ 9 B Missile Deal

Why Is Europe Hitting 114°F And Still Rising?

The INCREDIBLE Impacts of Methylene Blue

The LARGEST Eruptions since the Merapi Disaster in 2010 at Lewotobi Laki Laki in Indonesia

Feds ARREST 11 Leftists For AMBUSH On ICE, 2 Cops Shot, Organized Terror Cell Targeted ICE In Texas

What is quantum computing?

12 Important Questions We Should Be Asking About The Cover Up The Truth About Jeffrey Epstein

TSA quietly scraps security check that every passenger dreads

Iran Receives Emergency Airlift of Chinese Air Defence Systems as Israel Considers New Attacks

Russia reportedly used its new, inexpensive Chernika kamikaze drone in the Ukraine

Iran's President Says the US Pledged Israel Wouldn't Attack During Previous Nuclear Negotiations

Will Japan's Rice Price Shock Lead To Government Collapse And Spark A Global Bond Crisis

Beware The 'Omniwar': Catherine Austin Fitts Fears 'Weaponization Of Everything'

Roger Stone: AG Pam Bondi Must Answer For 14 Terabytes Claim Of Child Torture Videos!

'Hit Us, Please' - America's Left Issues A 'Broken Arrow' Signal To Europe

Cash Jordan Trump Deports ‘Thousands of Migrants’ to Africa… on Purpose


Immigration
See other Immigration Articles

Title: Minimum Wage Laws Crippling Small Business
Source: [None]
URL Source: http://www.wealthwire.com/news/economy/2459?r=1
Published: Jan 5, 2012
Author: Brittany Stepniak
Post Date: 2012-01-05 07:35:25 by Tatarewicz
Keywords: None
Views: 659
Comments: 30

David Frias, 34, works at a popular movie theatre in San Francisco. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University whose dream is to film documentaries in the future. Right now, he only makes minimum wage; which is pretty darn good, actually.

Lucky for him, he just received a pay increase as the minimum wage increased from $9.92 per hour up to $10.24 an hour. That 32 cents extra is a “psychological boost,” according to Mr. Frias:

"I know I'm going to have a little extra money in my wallet. San Francisco is a model for low-wage workers - it's full respect, I guess."

Surely a psychological boost is just that. It sounds good and feels good, but the actual minimum wage increase won't really be able to do all that much to improve workers' lives.

While Mr. Frias may be delighted by the recent change, his employer – along with all other small businesses in the area – will suffer the consequences. An increased minimum wage simply means higher costs for business owners trying to build a successful business...

Frias also spends some of his time volunteering with the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition. According to their data, there are approxiamtely 19,999 other minimum wage workers right in the San Francisco vacinity. Job titles of these workers inlude fast food workers, janitors dishwashers at high-end restaurants, store clerks, and security guards.

The coalition was among the original backers of the 2003 ballot measure that created a citywide minimum wage in San Francisco, the nation's third city to adopt its own wage after Washington and Santa Fe, N.M.

Some small cities have followed suit, though several have a livable wage that applies only to businesses that contract with the city.

The coalition calls for a "living wage" when considering what the minimum wage should be.

living wage *Image courtesy of the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition.

Meanwhile, the federal minimum wage holds steady at $7.25 and the state minimum is at $8 an hour. In San Francisco, officials look to the previous year's Consumer Price Index for urband workers in order to dictate an appropriate minimum wage. In 2004, the calculated minimum wage was $8.50 per hour in San Francisco. It's been rising exponentially ever since...

Bottom line's rise by year, compiled by the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement: 2004 $8.50 2005 $8.62 2006 $8.82 2007 $9.14 2008 $9.36 2009 $9.79 2010 $9.79 2011 $9.92 2012 $10.24

If you look around the country, minimum wage begins at half of San Francisco's rate; $5.15 an hour (Wyoming). On the East Coast, states offer about $7.25 an hour (Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, North Carolina). It's about the same in the Midwest; slightly less in some areas. On the West Coast, wages are closer to the $8 range: $8.00 in California, $8.80 in Oregon and $9.04 in Washington.

Still, the coalition argues that the city would have to agree to pay minimum wage workers at least $15 per hour to bring a single individual out of poverty status. Moreover, an employer would have to offer an employee at least $36 per hour in order for a single parent with a child or two to survive above the poverty line.

It's simply not feasible to bring individuals out of poverty by increasing the minimum wage and hindering the growth of businesses with great potential; especially not when companies are forced to halt hiring based on absurd minimum wage rates.

Employers are angry with the $10.24 wage rate. And the entire community should be concerned too.

Keep in mind that the employers are required to provide nine paid sick days, provide health care (if there are over 20 employees), and pay a 1.5 percent payroll tax. These strict stipulations make it tough for them run a sustainable business and greatly hinders the possibility for development.

Therefore, this most recent pay increase as another burden of doing business in San Francisco. A couple extra dollars per shift won't make a big difference for the workers at all...but it will deeply impact the expenses of buisness owners.

"I hate it," Daniel Scherotter said of the city's highest-in-the-country minimum wage.

He's the chef and owner of Palio D'Asti, an Italian restaurant in the Financial District, and a previous president of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.

Scherotter said the minimum wage is "plainly unjust" because California is one of a handful of states that prohibit a tip credit, meaning waiters earn the same minimum wage even though they receive tips.

Experts say this ultimately puts San Francisco at a competitive disadvantage. Employers are forced to cut staff, reduce the quality of food and products by doing so, and they're hiring less teenagers immigrants and ex convicts.

"Who the hell would hire a teenager for $12 an hour?" - Daniel Scherotter, chef and owner of Palio D'Asti, an Italian restaurant in the Financial District and former president of the Golden Gate Restaurant Associate

*Indented excerpts courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 11.

#1. To: Tatarewicz, *Music Club* (#0)

What Living On $7 An Hour Actually Means

In this clip, award-winning journalist Barbara Ehrenreich gets to the root of what it means to be nickel and dimed by the 1%. Watch:

Nickel and Dimed from The American Ruling Class! -- Musical operetta starts soon after the 3:50 mark.

GreyLmist  posted on  2012-01-05   8:42:23 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: GreyLmist, Tatz, 4 (#1)

Does anyone here know anyone who makes minimum wage?

I'm trying to imagine what kind if work would command only $7.25, and then, the type person who would accept that wage.

Lod  posted on  2012-01-05   9:00:54 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: Lod (#2) (Edited)

Does anyone here know anyone who makes minimum wage?

I do. Currently, I make $8.50 an hour but I do not get paid sick leave, no health benefits, no overtime pay, and no paid vacation time. Now when I was out there in California trying to find legal work, I was interviewed by one white woman and she refused to hire me because I had too much education and experience for $7.00 that she was paying. When I looked at her employers, they were all Mexican girls. I looked at her and replied, "Oh I understand quite well". Another interview by some punk smart-assed attorney told me on the phone, "Why would I want to hire somebody who has more knowledge and experience than myself"? After that remark, he hung up.

I tried enlisting with 5 employment agencies out there and to no avail, they could only find me work in some telemarketing business. When I did a grammar and computer skills test, I was amazed. My grammar was 85% in passing and I typed 55 wpm. Most of my computer skills were advanced because of my legal background in preparing briefs. When I showed them my legal briefs filed from state superior court to federal court and United States Supreme Court, they told me I was overqualified for the jobs they had in line for me. Mind you that this supposedly California; the land of mint and honey. All they could find for me were telesales jobs. I'm not good at all at bullshitting on the phone. I am a very thorough legal investigator though. And I prefer to work with white collar professional people. I know people who worked in the aerospace industry who were laid off from their jobs because they made too damn much money. They were making at least, $100,000.00 in salary. So, I am not the only one suffering alone from this epidemic. And when they got laid off and applied for unemployment benefits, the people at the unemployment office told them they should go to training school for job skills. Fucking job skills?? This individual had a bachelors degree in Engineering and had 5 patents with the U.S. government and worked for Hughes before Boeing bought it out. When they got laid off, they could not find any other work. As a result they died from anxiety and deep depression. All that schooling they went through amounted to nothing. People go to school to improve their standard of living. That's the American way. If people are unable to find decent jobs after receiving their degrees, then maybe the colleges should go bankrupt too.

purplerose  posted on  2012-01-05   14:48:15 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: purplerose, 4 (#4)

Here, fast-food joints are advertising $12/hour for entry level positions.

The jobs/economy situation must be all over the board in the country.

Lod  posted on  2012-01-05   15:02:44 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: Lod (#5) (Edited)

Where I'm at fast food restaurants pay $9 an hour. However, many of the family-owned restaurants have been paying as low as $2.33 an hour. I hear this from some of those who do server jobs in the area. Most employers around here won't hire you if you have college background experience or the equivalent. They want employees who know nothing and just do as they are told. This was told to me by one employer.

And so goes the community and nation straight doing the downward spiral. Not a wise thing to start a family on an income below $50,000.00 a year. People need to think about the children's future for God's sake. If you can't afford to feed a child, please dear God, don't start a family!

purplerose  posted on  2012-01-05   15:21:26 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#11. To: purplerose, 4 (#6)

People need to think about the children's future for God's sake. If you can't afford to feed a child, please dear God, don't start a family!

Amen.

My parents waited until they knew what language we'd be speaking during WWII.

Lod  posted on  2012-01-05   15:54:05 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


Replies to Comment # 11.

        There are no replies to Comment # 11.


End Trace Mode for Comment # 11.

TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]