United States Minimum Wage
Recently, Ralph Nader stated that the 1960's minimum wage if cost of living adjustments were applied, would be just under $10.00 now. But instead it remain $5.15 per hour at the federal level since Bush5.15 refuses to increase it.Businesses and republicans say that the $5.15 federal minimum wage is necessary because there are tens of thousands of jobs at that pay level would disappear if the federal minimum wage was increased.
I was taught that a business that was dependant on ultra low wages for its workers was a marginal business that should be examined whether there were different ways of doing business to increase the wage rate or maybe the business was not worth continuing in existence. Sometimes equipment can be brought in to increase productivity or sometimes a job can be performed more efficiently. Economics would tell where the labor should go.
The federal minimum wage level jobs seem to be the jobs Americans do not want. I don't blame them. How can anyone survive on that low rate of pay? Even a kid with free rent and board trying to pay for a car, car insurance, maintenance, and fuel would have trouble with this rate of pay. These seem to be the jobs that the illegal immigrants are picking up. It seems that to survive on these wages the illegal immigrants live cowboy style many people in a shared room, buying only absolute necessities, and still sending millions of dollars in aggregate to their families at home each week, helping foreign economies and withdrawing the funds from the American economy.
Maybe if we increased the federal minimum wage, Americans would want many of these jobs and we would solve the illegal immigration problem. Also, we would not have to pay for the education and health for illegal immigrants and their children with our taxes since they usually do not pay taxes or have health insurance.
What do you think? Have you written to your local, state, and federal representatives? Should this be a subject for national discussion? Do you think the federal minimum wage should be increased? Do you think Bush5.15 is wrong again by not increasing the federal minimum wage?
posted by God Bless America - Bob @ 4:26 PM
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