In my area (we now have $15/hour) the push was to enable people to earn a "living wage" however, this was and is, in my opinion, a flawed mode of thought. Firstly, 15 is not a living wage in my area and has not been for some time yet in the newspapers and during the marches you heard completely the opposite: "this will solve our financial woes!". I did/do not agree with this. I do agree minimums should be adjusted on a regular basis to keep in sync with inflation however I did not agree 15 was the correct number. Perhaps it was more? Perhaps less? A study was commissioned ($500k in taxpayer dollars) but it contained quite a bit of ambiguity.
Too, if there was to be an increase should it be such a drastic amount and if so, why have the laws not kept up in the first place? Such a large jump in a short amount of time would most certainly force undue hardship onto small businesses and larger corporate entities alike. I spoke at a public hearing forum explaining my thoughts and suggested the study be performed by a financial or academic organization far from our jurisdiction to ensure a pure unbiased result. I received much boo'ing from the crowd. Ultimately, they selected a local source. I was also verbally skeptic that such an increase would not raise inflation or cause the undue burdens I mentioned above. More boo'ing from the audience. meh.....
In the end the new rate passed and everyone rejoiced - the dawning of a new age and all that. I sighed. Within a year the cost of living has increased proportionally and these same "social justice warriors" are back on the streets screaming that they don't have enough to live on ... again. It's economics 101: as median income rises so do costs associated with necessities such as housing, food, etc etc etc. If this were not the case we would still be able to buy a brand new car for $200.
Again, the minimum wage laws are just that: a minimum hourly wage law installed to prevent workers from being taken advantage of as has so frequently happened in the past. The discussion should really be: what is the minimum living wage and how do we get there. In my area, it was calculated to be approximately $57,000/year in the metro and $42,000/year in the burbs. That equates to roughly $27 and $20 per hour if do my mind-maths correctly. Are we prepared to do that? Are we prepared to pay fast food workers, unskilled laborers and <drum roll> me that amount? Or do we keep a decent minimum wage, discuss living wage regulations then refocus our attentions on providing the much needed education to our citizens so they advance, grow and thrive thus enabling us to become, once again, a world power to be partnered with?
Interesting topic but ... sorry mods! ...far off from the OP's original question.
Your answer, OP: 35 cents more than minimum I believe.
