Skip to main content

$10 minimum wage

$10 minimum wage, Team of Legislators in Maryland are again debating raising the state minimum wage, this time from $7.25 to $10.00 per hour (a 38 percent increase) and indexing it to the cost of living so that future changes would be automatic, with no vote or legislative accountability required. Also included is an increase in minimum wages to employees who receive most of their compensation in tips. The bill would raise the minimum wage for tipped workers from 50 percent to 70 percent of the full minimum wage.

This is motherhood and apple pie legislation. Who can be opposed to paying employees a wage that allows them to live more comfortably? If $10 an hour is good, why not require $20 an hour, or maybe $50?

The answer is obvious. Markets set wages. To stay in business and keep people employed, businesses have to be competitive. The cost of wages is reflected in the price of the product or service to the consumer. When labor costs go up, employers have two choices. They can attempt to pass the price increases on to customers (and perhaps lose their customers) or find a way to cut costs.

Maryland businesses that have to compete with surrounding states are already disadvantaged by sales and corporate taxes and fees that make them less competitive. For Maryland restaurants, whose employee compensation is largely tip income, the requirement to pay 70 percent of the increased $10 minimum wage forces a 93 percent increase in required restaurant wages. That would result in increasing menu prices, cutting employees or maybe closing the doors. (More than 50 percent of restaurants fail in their first year of business, and 90 percent of those who make it through year No. 1 don’t make it through their second year.)

More important than the impact on employers is the impact of minimum wages on Maryland workers — the human element. Who is this law attempting to help? A study by the Heritage Foundation demonstrates that 97 percent of wage earners make more than the minimum wage. The majority of those paid the minimum wage are young people ages 16 to 24. They are largely students working part-time and living in households averaging $53,000 per year. They are gaining valuable work experience and learning skills.

The main impact of minimum-wage laws is to hurt the unskilled and poor, who are priced out of entry-level jobs. Employers will not hire workers whose lack of skill does not produce enough to justify paying $10 per hour, plus fringe benefits such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, vacation or sick leave and health care.

Youth unemployment in Maryland is more than 20 percent, but for black teens, studies place that figure at more than 40 percent. Laws that deny young people the chance to get their foot on the first rung of the ladder are devastating to their future. Black economist Thomas Sowell calls minimum-wage laws a “major social disaster.”

“When you set minimum-wage levels higher than many inexperienced young people are worth, they don’t get hired. It is not rocket science,” he writes.

The Department of Labor reports that only 4 percent of minimum-wage workers are single parents with full-time jobs. Many economists argue that expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit is a far better way to help the working poor, without disrupting the underlying labor market. Russell Sykes of the Empire Center for New York State Policy argues, “[The Earned Income Tax Credit] doesn’t lead to job loss, it doesn’t deter hiring, and, since it penetrates to about 80 percent of [low-income] working families with children, it already raises the effective minimum wage for a mom with two kids from $7.25 to $10.44 an hour.”

Raising the minimum wage will only dig Maryland deeper into the economic hole. Worse, it will result in jobs lost, especially among the working poor, as employers cut corners in order to cover the increased costs of labor. Fixing unemployment and giving workers a reasonable, living wage are laudable goals, but continuing to increase the minimum wage is not the way to achieve them.

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o