Minimum wage hike - how it would affect me
I have appreciated Jordan's posts over on Cornbelt Boys concerning the increase of minimum wage and how it would affect his business. I agree with him - it will cause his pizzas to go up in price (eventually), but not before putting a pinch on his operating capital in the meantime. Artificial inflation ensues.
As a farmer/entrepreneur, I never thought about the minimum wage issue - I don't get paid, or pay, any hourly wages, but instead pay salaries. When I have hired people to work for me temporarily, I've paid them $8.00/hour or more for pretty basic jobs.
However, my wife, the town librarian, brought up the other day that he would benefit from the minimum wage increase. Though working part time, she is paid $6.25/hour for 16.5 hours/week.
Let's say our minimum wage increase goes to $7.25/hour. That means the town would have to cough up another $858/year. I don't think they have budgeted for it, and being a small town with a lot of other pressing issues (sewers, water system, road maintenance, all with a low tax base), it may be difficult to get this. Her hours may get reduced in order to accomodate this, while her job demands would stay the same.
While I'd like to see my wife be paid more for what she does (she does have a college degree and state library certification), it's too bad it will take a government mandate to make this happen. She is not paid, as a city employee, based upon her performance, but on how much money there is available in the budget. Worse yet, the library trustees who "oversee" the library for the city, have been and are reluctant to ask for more money from the city. They won't even stand up for their only employee.
So, while I'd be glad to see an extra $500/year in net income come back to the house, I'm chagrined that A) it's not because of recognized merit and B) it had to take a government mandate to make it happen. Oh well, what can you expect when the government screws another government over.
As a farmer/entrepreneur, I never thought about the minimum wage issue - I don't get paid, or pay, any hourly wages, but instead pay salaries. When I have hired people to work for me temporarily, I've paid them $8.00/hour or more for pretty basic jobs.
However, my wife, the town librarian, brought up the other day that he would benefit from the minimum wage increase. Though working part time, she is paid $6.25/hour for 16.5 hours/week.
Let's say our minimum wage increase goes to $7.25/hour. That means the town would have to cough up another $858/year. I don't think they have budgeted for it, and being a small town with a lot of other pressing issues (sewers, water system, road maintenance, all with a low tax base), it may be difficult to get this. Her hours may get reduced in order to accomodate this, while her job demands would stay the same.
While I'd like to see my wife be paid more for what she does (she does have a college degree and state library certification), it's too bad it will take a government mandate to make this happen. She is not paid, as a city employee, based upon her performance, but on how much money there is available in the budget. Worse yet, the library trustees who "oversee" the library for the city, have been and are reluctant to ask for more money from the city. They won't even stand up for their only employee.
So, while I'd be glad to see an extra $500/year in net income come back to the house, I'm chagrined that A) it's not because of recognized merit and B) it had to take a government mandate to make it happen. Oh well, what can you expect when the government screws another government over.
posted by bgunzy at 1/15/2007 07:41:00 AM
5 Comments:
Perhaps your wife could simply do her job free of charge as a volunteer. This would benefit the community and ease them of the extra burden that you seem to be so concerned about. And you could make up the difference to your own income loss of $500 bucks by screwing the government out of thousands more in farm subsidies. Perhaps lobby to increase your wheat subsidy or the like while you visit the coffee shop and blog and the rest of us work for a living.
Anonymous, your ignorance is almost beyond comprehension. Let me explain.
1) I don't "screw" the government for subsidies. I play by the rules set forth and take what I get. If anyone is getting screwed its the farmer when he goes to the FSA office.
2) I received $446 in wheat subsidies over the last two years. Big whoop. How much did you spend on chocolate lattes over the last two years?
3) Volunteer, for the government? What, are you some sort of socialist?
4) If you'd like the farm subsidies removed, that'd be fine with me. How would you like to pay organic prices for conventional food? That's what you get for paying us subsidies, buddy.
Glad to see you are so brave to post as anonymous, genius.
Today I learned that "wa-la!" is translated by the French as "viola!"
Use it in a sentence?
...When Bgunzy applied the boomstick to Anonymous's posterior and "hit the air" VOILA, there was a temporary surge in the methane market, but a long term decrease in productive output.
Thanks for the clarification, Mango.
Question: When the French described a type of violin, do they say VI-O-LA or WA-LA?
Mango picked up the viola/wala and played a tune.
Viola, (the instrument) like most formal musical terms, is Italian.
Viola (French) means roughly "There it is" and I think it's a construction of two words.
I had to look up the French for the instrument, and it's something like "viol" or "vielle" and I don't know how they'd pronounce it. Very different than you or I would, that's for sure.
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