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Tag: minimum wage hike

  • Chicago $15 Minimum Wage Could Happen

    Chicago $15 Minimum Wage Could Happen

    If a group of Chicago aldermen’s plans prove successful, the minimum wage for the Illinois city could be increased to $15 per hour.

    The officials worked to introduce a proposal on Wednesday that would boost the city’s minimum wage.

    It’s been noted that a separate minimum wage proposal was put together by a panel Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appointed.

    That panel included aldermen in addition to Chicago business leaders and labor officials.

    It’s also possible that a minimum wage hike could come by way of a vote in November.

    Reports indicate that Illinois voters might be asked whether or not it’s desirable to see the minimum wage increased to $10 per hour from the current $8.25.

    “Study after study demonstrates that when you put money into the pockets of consumers, they spend it,” said Alderman Ricardo Munoz. “They don’t hoard it in their mattresses.”

    The logic behind the hike is that providing Chicago workers with a minimum wage that increases one’s “livable wages” means that in addition to having an easier time paying necessary bills, there will be enough money left to spend on local businesses.

    These businesses would in turn be able to better pay employees at every level.

    At least, this is the hope behind minimum wage hikes that are taking place across the country.

    President Barack Obama wants Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

    Upwards of 38 states could be making adjustments to the minimum wage in the coming years.

    Michigan intends to raise their minimum wage to $9.25 per hour by the year 2018.

    For Chicago, the move is meant to keep the city competitive as the standard of living is among the highest in the state.

    Not everyone is thrilled with the idea of a minimum wage hike. The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce believes such an increase would put the state of Illinois, and most especially Chicago, “at a competitive disadvantage”.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Minimum Wage Hike Shut Down by GOP

    Minimum Wage Hike Shut Down by GOP

    The federally-mandated Minimum Wage has been at $7.25 an hour since 2009. If Senate Democrats, and President Obama, had had their way, that amount would have gone up to $10.10. But that effort has been brought to a grinding halt by the Republicans in the Senate.

    Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa (Dem) introduced the bill for a vote in the Senate. According to ABC News, the bill was evidently intended to be a midterm election ploy. The idea was to bring a measure to the floor that gave working Americans a raise, and dare the Republicans to vote it down.

    Senator Harkin nearly taunted the GOP prior to the vote. “Who’s going to vote to give these people a fair shot at the American dream? And who’s going to vote against it?”

    But vote against it they did. Of course, that’s not exactly how things work in the Senate. The vote was actually about whether to continue debate on the bill or to allow it to come to the floor for a vote. For the bill to be brought to the floor would have required 60 votes, but the motion to bring it to the floor went 54-42, along party lines.

    In an interesting procedural move, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid voted with the Republicans, which would allow him to call for another vote on the measure. This is because Democrats want to continue to keep this issue before Americans as the midterm elections draw nearer.

    Most Americans support the notion of raising the Minimum Wage, but those that oppose it fall almost exclusively into two camps: Tea Party Republicans and business leaders.

    The Guardian reports that President Obama made election year hay with this vote, saying, “By preventing even a vote on this bill, they prevented a raise for nearly 28 million hardworking Americans.” The president then tied the GOP’s stance to election activities, calling for Americans to voice their own will.

    “If there is any good news here it is that Republicans in Congress don’t get the last word on this issue or any issue. You do, the American people, the voters.”

    President Obama had previously thrown down the gauntlet on the Minimum Wage issue by signing an executive order to raise the minimum wage for all federal contractors to $10.10 an hour. So some people are already going to get that raise.

    But the GOP counters that such a raise is irresponsible.

    “You think you can pay somebody $10.10 an hour in a McDonald’s and it won’t have an impact on the cost of your Big Mac?” John Cornyn, the Republican Senate minority whip, said. “Well, you’re living in a fantasy world.”

    Image via YouTube