Millions of Americans Will Benefit From Minimum Wage Increase Today

I am proud to announce that millions of Americans will receive a much-needed pay raise today.

Almost four and a half million workers in 31 states will see a bigger paycheck when the federal minimum wage increases from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour. This is the final of three increases to be implemented under a law enacted by the Democratic Congress in 2007.

This law provided the first minimum wage increase in a decade for our lowest-paid workers and their families. The buying power of the minimum wage had fallen to a 51-year low, and families were struggling with rising housing costs, unpredictable energy bills, and skyrocketing health care premiums.

We have seen where the low road of low wages and rising inequality leads -- to an unbalanced, unhealthy, and unsustainable economy.

Today's pay raise comes as even more Americans are struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families.

• Three-quarters of those who will benefit from this wage increase are 20 years old or older.

• More than half are families with yearly incomes of less than $35,000.

• Over sixty percent of them are women, and over 400,000 of them are single parents with kids under 18. And over two million children will benefit from this boost in their parents' wages.

The average minimum wage worker brings home the lion-share of their family's earnings. In fact, about half of all minimum wage workers work full time and another third work between 20 and 34 hours per week. In the wealthiest country in the world, it is an outrage that anyone who works full-time still winds up in poverty.

Unlike tax cuts for the wealthy, a higher minimum wage increases consumer spending on local businesses, which is good for everyone. In fact, a recent study by economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found that every dollar increase in the minimum wage leads to an $800 increase in spending per quarter by families with minimum wage workers.

The Economic Policy Institute estimated that this increased purchasing power will boost consumer spending by more than $5.5 billion over the next 12 months. This increase will provide millions of families with about $120 in extra monthly income to help pay their grocery bills or fill up their cars.

Especially in this economy, Congress will continue to look at solutions that will help all Americans build a better life for themselves and their families.

(Cross-posted at the EdLabor Journal.)

Follow Rep. George Miller on Twitter: www.twitter.com/askgeorge

Comments

[lippylaroux]

This is all a Democrat scam to pay back the unions for support in the last election. Union pay scale is tied to the minimum wage. They could care less about the little people earning minimum wages. If they did care they would do things to help small businesses create more jobs instead of passing lob destroying laws.

[RightWingMarine]

you hit it on the head.

[wilsonveteran]

This is just a democrat ruse. When they raise the minimum wage which raises the cost of production the business just raises the cost of their products to overcome this wage increase. They do this or they lay of more workers to be able to pay the rest more. It has never worked and never will. When you go to work for someone you make a contract that you will do a certain job for certain pay. If you do not like the pay you go elsewhere. If that is all you can make maybe you should make yourself more marketable with a trade or an education. Say you can't pay for it you don't have to because there is enough grants and college loans out there to get you through.
Just the Democrats turning you into victims because they need victims to get elected. These victims believe that only government can help them out of their problems that they cannot do it themselves.

[robbrian]

Where do you think the extra money will go? It certainly won't be on a mortgage for a four hundred thousand dollar house. The extra will buy more food, maybe a pair of shoes for the kids. That extra is not a burden to anyone if you stop and remember that we have society totally dependent upon consumption. Minimum wage recipients are spend more of their income on goods than any other income group. They also by definition have the lowest savings rates.

So get real and think about the total multiplier effect not just the cost side of of the equation.

[doug108]

Don't many grants and college loans come from the government?

[Mnemanth]

And in response, millions of businesses just raised the cost of their goods and services to compensate and/ or cash in.

Good work. Go pat yourself on the back, while the rest of us face reality.

[RobinSeattle]

The Minimum Wage should be somewhere in the $10-12 an hour range.

We also have to have some legislative help in retaining family wage jobs and restrictions on the ratio of employees at the bottom of a company's pay ladder and those at the top. Also, all benefits available to executives should be made available to every employee. Wehn CEO's collect bonuses even when a company loses money, they become parasites.

[WinterParkMom]

I have a question for everyone here saying how great it is that it's increased. Can YOU all live on $7.25/hour­? Let me put it in perspective. A whole baking chicken costs between 6-8 dollars that would be able to feed a family of 4 for 1 meal. Therefore, mw workers would work for 1 hour to be able to afford a chicken. That is $290 per week less payroll taxes, so more like $250. A decent rental for a family of 4 (because no one on min can afford a mortgage) Costs minimum of $800-900 per mo (where I live anyway), so if you're bringing home 250 per week, that's $1000 per mo. Your spouse can't find a job, the 2 kids need to eat, how do you eat, gas your car to get to work, pay the power and water and basic phone service on $200 per month?

This minimum wage is a joke and keeps people in perpetual poverty. Minimum wage should be $10 at the very least. I'd like to see our fat cats in congress live on $7.25 per hour and only get paid when they work. No pay when they're out campaigning because they're not doing the people's work.

BTW I manage a small business, and we are going through extremely tough times, but we wouldn't dream of paying anyone, even the most inexperienced employee less than $10 per hour. You just cannot live on less.

[RightWingMarine]

it is not the employers responsibility to provide for the workers family.

Why is it the employers fault that the employee (in your example) chose to have a wife and two kids when they only earn min wage? Why is the employees housing situation a problem for the employer? Why is the employee buying chicken for dinner since it costs so much of their income? Why is the employee using such luxuries as a telephone and vehicle since it causes such a burden on the family? Why is the employee staying in an apt of their own when they could move in with family or friends and reduce the rent bill?

Life isn't always easy but then no one promised you a rose garden.

[WinterParkMom]

Are you nuts??? I'm not saying it's an employers responsibility to provide for the family, I am saying that you nor I could live on that kind of pay and we need to be morally responsible. If you have an employee breaking his back for you, you should take into account that he should be paid a fair wage.

And it seems like you may not realize this, but alot of people have lost their jobs in the last year, and when there are job postings, thousands apply for 1 job. But only 1 can get it, Therefore, that leaves still alot of people unemployed. Many people who were working for a decent wage and providing for their families have been left in dire straits by layoffs.

Your arguments are irrational and unreasonable and it seems you are bereft of any compassion or morality. If you had no friends with room to take you in and no family around, what then?
Could you live on $250 per week and feed your family and living expenses?

[RobinSeattle]

"chose to have a wife and two kids when they only earn min wage?"

And you can get away with it because you hire illegal aliens, who in turn drive down wages for whole segments of industry, especially in construction.

We need to start putting more employers in jail for aiding and abetting an invasion of America and the destruction of the middle class.

[sunnybunny]

It is the employers responsibility to pay a living wage if he wants work done. There are reasons why we have labor laws.The point of having a minimum wage is to assure that anyone working full time should be able to support themselves (without government assistance) It is not working.

[losangelesgirl]

The increase in minimum wage isn't a positive thing for many small businesses owners throughout America. Not because the don't want to pay their employees more, but because they simply don't have the money to do so. To pay these employees small business many go out of business, or the other option is that employees will loose their job. http://www.newsy.com/videos/the_cost_of_minimum_wage_hike

[sunnybunny]

If you can't pay your employess a decent wage, you deserve to go out of business.

[bungle]

hear hear..

[doug108]

It's not like $7.25 is a decent wage either. Still, if you can't afford an extra 70 cents an hour for your lowest level employees, then you probably should go out of business.

I think the minimum wage should be fifteen bucks an hour. We'd all have to pay a little more for stuff when businesses passed the cost on to us, but there would be more jobs created as the result of greater demand for more stuff, and all of those new job holders would have to be paid at least $15 an hour. That leads to more spending and more jobs and a growing economy.

A decent minimum wage could help lead us out of this economic mess.

[JayDubs]

What a wonderful way to spin something tragic.

"Poor people don't know how to save money."

"Wait, that means if we give them money, they're guaranteed to spend all of it! That's good for the economy, right?"

"Of course, consumerism has never steered us wrong before!"

[RightWingMarine]

Congressman Miller, I noticed from your profile that you have spent your entire adult life as a politician but since you are deciding how much employers should pay their employees I wonder if you could help me with the following scenario.
Let's say there was an employee earning $6.55/hr and was producing at $7.00/hr making a profit for the employer of $0.45/hr for every hour worked. With your assistance in this companies business now that employee must be paid a minimum of $7.25/hr but while the wage must be increased that workers productivity has remained unchanged from yesterday meaning that for every hour this employee works the business loses $0.25/hr.
My question is: why would this company want to continue employing this person when the company loses money by having that employee at work?

[RyanCSmith]

Could the company make any kind of profit if most of the people they have coming in are minimum wage earners who get paid peanuts? You pay people more they get more buying power and more people buy from the business. You pay people less then you have to start looking at places to cut cost.

Incidentally since you're a Marine according to your picture and SN since your salary and benefits are c/o the Federal government would that mean you are working in a socialist system?

[Mnemanth]

You argument (and that of the marine, too) stands on the assumption that prices for goods and services remain static.
They don't.
A raise of the minimum wage means that the costs of goods and services goes up.
So while "We raised the minimum wage!" makes it look like our benevolent representatives have done some work, they have- in fact- accomplished nothing.

[wilsonveteran]

To answer your question about the Marine and the socialist system. There is a saying we had in the Army and I am sure the same applies for the Marines. WE ARE HERE TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY NOT PRACTICE IT. That is just one of the things we give up to protect you.

[RightWingMarine]

Once a Marine, Always a Marine. My contract has ended but I still get to call myself a Marine.

my point is that it doesn't make sense to pay an employee more than they produce for you. Young and unskilled people new to the workforce can't demand big wages because they can't produce enough to justify them. People are paid the min wage because that is just above what they can produce in that environment. Raising the min wage prices them out of the market. Mnemath points out that businesses can just raise their prices to pay for the higher wages and this would be true in a vacuum but in reality the laws of supply and demand show us that raising prices decreases demand for that product. If we could just raise prices to pay for the wage increase why not put the min wage at $100/hr and raise prices accordingly? But then as Mnemath points out it would still be awash, the raised wages would be lost to the higher prices.

When the min wage is raised the real losers are those Americans that already earned more than the min wage. If a business raises their prices for goods and services to pay the higher wages, unless you received a wage too, then your dollar buys less than it did before. Essentially the rest of America got a pay cut. Thank your elected representative.

[BobLablah]

Well done, but why didn't you make it $20 an hour? People could buy a lot more if they made more money.

[RightWingMarine]

Since an increase in the min wage decreases poverty why not go for $100/hr? then we'll all be rich and no one will be poor! It's genius!

[BobLablah]

I didn't think of that. $100 an hour is even better.

[sunnybunny]

Because it's a MINIMUM.Yo­u can pay 20.an hr and you will probably have to to get quality empolyees if the minimum wage was set at the appropriate level to achieve it's purpose..