Economy Minimum wage debate: States make their own increases (Post #340)

[Lead]

Updated Post 4/14/21
Romney, Sinema teaming up on proposal to raise minimum wage
The Hill

Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are teaming up on a bill to increase the minimum wage.

Romney declined to provide details on the proposal, though he suggested that he and Sinema had largely reached an agreement.

“We’re negotiating a minimum wage proposal which we would ultimately take to our group of 20 and see how they react to it and then go from there,” Romney said, referring to a bipartisan group 20 centrist-minded senators.

Romney also wouldn’t disclose the phase-in timeline or what the minimum wage would be raised to.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told The Huffington Post, which first reported on the Romney-Sinema proposal, that he believed the bipartisan measure would raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour.

Updated Post 3/31/21
Chuck Schumer Eyes a Second Shot at Raising the Minimum Wage through Reconciliation
The Intercept

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER Chuck Schumer is considering putting a $15 minimum wage into the next reconciliation package, which will be focused on infrastructure, multiple sources familiar with the New York senator’s thinking told The Intercept.

Senate Democrats attempted to include the wage hike in President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 relief package, but the Senate parliamentarian ruled it was out of order, and Senate Democrats allowed that ruling to stand. An effort to overturn the ruling, which required 60 votes, garnered just 42.

Schumer has suggested to progressive groups that there is a glimmer of hope that the parliamentarian would rule differently this time: The new legislation is focused on infrastructure, and setting wages is directly related to the budget impact of any infrastructure spending. If there’s even a small chance of it working, he reasoned, it’s worth the fight.

Schumer, though, is encountering resistance from some backers of increasing the minimum wage, who argue that attempting to include it is doomed to fail just as it did last time, and in the process it will trigger another wave of indignation from the public at the failure. Debate over the $1.9 trillion relief package was consumed in its final days by anger over the lack of inclusion of the wage hike, with pressure on progressives to vote it down.

I mean, I don't think there's a penalty to continually ask the parliamentarian about different things. Maybe a time cost if there a formal procedure to the whole thing.


Updated Post 3/5/21
The eight Democrats who voted 'no' on $15 minimum wage
The Hill

One of President Biden’s top policy goals, an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, suffered a big setback Friday when eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted against it.

An effort by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to waive a procedural objection to adding the $15 minimum wage to a COVID-19 relief package was resoundingly defeated by a vote of 58-42 in which seven Democrats and one independent joined all 50 Republicans.

Kinda expected this. Manchin wasn't the only person actually against this and Bernie likely upset some of those in his party by making them have to reveal that.



Updated Post 3/1/21
Looks like Plan B is getting dropped too for now.
Senate Democrats drop proposal to penalize companies for not providing $15 minimum wage
CNN

Senate Democrats decided Sunday to abandon an alternative proposal to penalize companies for not providing a $15 minimum wage to their employees, the latest indication that boosting the federal minimum wage in this Congress remains an extremely tall order, according to a person involved in the talks.

After the House passed President Joe Biden's Covid-19 relief bill early Saturday morning -- with a provision raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in stages by 2025 -- the bill is expected to hit the Senate floor this week, but without that same provision, which the Senate parliamentarian ruled doesn't fall within the rules of budget reconciliation, a process that allows Senate Democrats to pass the $1.9 trillion relief plan with just 51 votes.
Senate Democrats had a difficult time crafting the tax provisions in their alternative minimum wage proposal, sources said, so they are looking at other potential avenues to boost the rate. Yet it underscores the dire chances of boosting the wage after the parliamentarian's ruling.
If they can't find an alternative rate hike to fit into the budget reconciliation bill, which they're trying to pass by the middle of March, they will have to try to pass such a plan through regular order, meaning 60 votes would be needed in the 50-50 Senate.

The Senate could move to open debate on the bill as soon as Wednesday, with a marathon voting session on amendments -- known in the Senate as a vote-a-rama -- potentially Thursday. But the timing is still in flux.

Updated Post 2/27/21
Looks like they are making that second go of it with the payroll tax idea. It's a little different though. Looks like a 5% payroll tax would be imposed on "very large companies" who don't have the wage at a certain minimum. Additionally, there would be a tax credit for small companies who choose to raise their wages. The number itself is on the table as well but I think it's certainly possible they still stick with $15.

Senate Democrats move immediately to "Plan B" on minimum wage
CBS

The plan being drafted by aides to Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden of Oregon — in close consultation with Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders of Vermont — would impose a 5% payroll tax penalty on "very large" companies that do not pay workers a certain amount. That amount is still unclear: Wyden favors $15 an hour, but is currently seeking feedback from fellow Democrats on that figure and on exactly which companies would face the penalties.

"Everyone in the caucus is envisioning 'very large' companies – think Walmart, Amazon," a Senate Democratic aide told CBS News.

Under the proposal, which Senate Democrats hope to finish crafting by early next week, smaller businesses that raise their workers' wages would be eligible for income tax credits equal to 25% of wages — up to $10,00[0] per employer to year — tax incentives to increase wages.

Some other elements here is AOC was saying the house bill passed with progressives because of the inclusion of the minimum wage piece so she thinks it is important Senate still gets it included. I don't really think there's much that group can do in the event it doesn't happen.

Ocasio-Cortez also challenged Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has expressed opposition to raising the minimum wage to $15 and has instead suggested that it be raised to $11 per hour.

"His own constituents, West Virginians, want a $15 minimum wage. So I don't even see what kind of leg he's standing on here where the majority of his own state doesn't agree with him," Ocasio-Cortez said. A February poll by the One Fair Wage Coalition, a group which supports a minimum wage hike, found that 63% of West Virginians support raising the minimum wage by 2025.

This brings back the possibility of this having to be part of the bill despite Manchin and Sinema's initial disapproval of a $15 across the board measure. However, the new proposal is different so it can't be assumed they are against this as well.

What's interesting here is this puts Hawley in an interesting spot because he proposed a plan that would make large companies (over a 1B in revenue) to pay $15 an hour and smaller companies would get a tax credit (nearly the same thing being proposed above). Very unlikely but you got a dimension there where he might consider voting for the package. It's a much larger package though 1.9T and minimum wage is just one piece of it that will possibly be included.

Original posting 1/23/21
One of Biden's relief bill measures has been to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. Furthermore, he is expected to raise the minimum pay for federal workers to $15 soon.

This debate had somewhat died down when it originally in 2016. Clinton at the time didn't originally support it, calling for a $12 hike with states/ localities capable of a higher rate to do so but then moved to $15 later on. About 3/5 of the states currently have a higher current minimum wage than the federal $7.25 rate. No states hold a $15 or higher minimum wage in 2021, with the closest being California at a conditional $14.00 and the District of Columbia holding $15.

A large difference in expectation showed up when Yellen's statements on the policy conflicted what the CBO expected with her saying:
“Right now we have millions of American workers who are putting their lives on the line to keep their communities functioning, and sometimes even working multiple jobs, aren’t earning enough to put food on the table and a roof over their heads,”.
A CBO report however has estimated possible job loses when analyzing a bill considering a 2025 $15 minimum:
“In an average week in 2025, the $15 option would boost the wages of 17 million workers who would otherwise earn less than $15 per hour. Another 10 million workers otherwise earning slightly more than $15 per hour might see their wages rise as well,” the CBO said. The budget analysts also calculated that “the number of people with annual income below the poverty threshold in 2025 would fall by 1.3 million.”
“1.3 million other workers would become jobless, according to CBO’s median estimate.” In addition, it said, “there is a two-thirds chance that the change in employment would be between about zero and a decrease of 3.7 million workers.”

Yellen says raising minimum wage to $15 would have ‘minimal’ impact on jobs, but nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office disagrees
MarketWatch

Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25 would help the U.S. economy more than it would harm it, Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s Treasury Secretary nominee, told lawmakers this week.

“Right now we have millions of American workers who are putting their lives on the line to keep their communities functioning, and sometimes even working multiple jobs, aren’t earning enough to put food on the table and a roof over their heads,” Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, told the Senate Finance Committee at her confirmation hearing.

Raising the minimum wage, she said, would “really help many of those workers” and job losses as a result of it would be “very minimal, if anything.”

Biden, in his recently unveiled stimulus proposal, is pushing for a $15 minimum wage and end tip credits — a way to pay tipped workers less than minimum wage. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009. Workers at this level earn roughly $15,000 a year if they work 40 hours a week.

Reading (open to adding more links if people ask for an add)
CBO Report about the $15 bill for 2025
Paul Distorts CBO’s Estimate on Impact of $15 Minimum Wage by FactCheck.org
Hillary Clinton knows a national $15 minimum wage is a bad idea. She endorsed it anyway. by Vox
Biden wants a $15 hourly federal minimum wage. Is America ready? by NBC News

 

[Lead]

Updated Post 4/14/21
Romney, Sinema teaming up on proposal to raise minimum wage
The Hill

Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are teaming up on a bill to increase the minimum wage.

Romney declined to provide details on the proposal, though he suggested that he and Sinema had largely reached an agreement.

“We’re negotiating a minimum wage proposal which we would ultimately take to our group of 20 and see how they react to it and then go from there,” Romney said, referring to a bipartisan group 20 centrist-minded senators.

Romney also wouldn’t disclose the phase-in timeline or what the minimum wage would be raised to.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told The Huffington Post, which first reported on the Romney-Sinema proposal, that he believed the bipartisan measure would raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour.

Updated Post 3/31/21
Chuck Schumer Eyes a Second Shot at Raising the Minimum Wage through Reconciliation
The Intercept

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER Chuck Schumer is considering putting a $15 minimum wage into the next reconciliation package, which will be focused on infrastructure, multiple sources familiar with the New York senator’s thinking told The Intercept.

Senate Democrats attempted to include the wage hike in President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 relief package, but the Senate parliamentarian ruled it was out of order, and Senate Democrats allowed that ruling to stand. An effort to overturn the ruling, which required 60 votes, garnered just 42.

Schumer has suggested to progressive groups that there is a glimmer of hope that the parliamentarian would rule differently this time: The new legislation is focused on infrastructure, and setting wages is directly related to the budget impact of any infrastructure spending. If there’s even a small chance of it working, he reasoned, it’s worth the fight.

Schumer, though, is encountering resistance from some backers of increasing the minimum wage, who argue that attempting to include it is doomed to fail just as it did last time, and in the process it will trigger another wave of indignation from the public at the failure. Debate over the $1.9 trillion relief package was consumed in its final days by anger over the lack of inclusion of the wage hike, with pressure on progressives to vote it down.

I mean, I don't think there's a penalty to continually ask the parliamentarian about different things. Maybe a time cost if there a formal procedure to the whole thing.


Updated Post 3/5/21
The eight Democrats who voted 'no' on $15 minimum wage
The Hill

One of President Biden’s top policy goals, an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, suffered a big setback Friday when eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted against it.

An effort by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to waive a procedural objection to adding the $15 minimum wage to a COVID-19 relief package was resoundingly defeated by a vote of 58-42 in which seven Democrats and one independent joined all 50 Republicans.

Kinda expected this. Manchin wasn't the only person actually against this and Bernie likely upset some of those in his party by making them have to reveal that.



Updated Post 3/1/21
Looks like Plan B is getting dropped too for now.
Senate Democrats drop proposal to penalize companies for not providing $15 minimum wage
CNN

Senate Democrats decided Sunday to abandon an alternative proposal to penalize companies for not providing a $15 minimum wage to their employees, the latest indication that boosting the federal minimum wage in this Congress remains an extremely tall order, according to a person involved in the talks.

After the House passed President Joe Biden's Covid-19 relief bill early Saturday morning -- with a provision raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in stages by 2025 -- the bill is expected to hit the Senate floor this week, but without that same provision, which the Senate parliamentarian ruled doesn't fall within the rules of budget reconciliation, a process that allows Senate Democrats to pass the $1.9 trillion relief plan with just 51 votes.
Senate Democrats had a difficult time crafting the tax provisions in their alternative minimum wage proposal, sources said, so they are looking at other potential avenues to boost the rate. Yet it underscores the dire chances of boosting the wage after the parliamentarian's ruling.
If they can't find an alternative rate hike to fit into the budget reconciliation bill, which they're trying to pass by the middle of March, they will have to try to pass such a plan through regular order, meaning 60 votes would be needed in the 50-50 Senate.

The Senate could move to open debate on the bill as soon as Wednesday, with a marathon voting session on amendments -- known in the Senate as a vote-a-rama -- potentially Thursday. But the timing is still in flux.

Updated Post 2/27/21
Looks like they are making that second go of it with the payroll tax idea. It's a little different though. Looks like a 5% payroll tax would be imposed on "very large companies" who don't have the wage at a certain minimum. Additionally, there would be a tax credit for small companies who choose to raise their wages. The number itself is on the table as well but I think it's certainly possible they still stick with $15.

Senate Democrats move immediately to "Plan B" on minimum wage
CBS

The plan being drafted by aides to Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden of Oregon — in close consultation with Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders of Vermont — would impose a 5% payroll tax penalty on "very large" companies that do not pay workers a certain amount. That amount is still unclear: Wyden favors $15 an hour, but is currently seeking feedback from fellow Democrats on that figure and on exactly which companies would face the penalties.

"Everyone in the caucus is envisioning 'very large' companies – think Walmart, Amazon," a Senate Democratic aide told CBS News.

Under the proposal, which Senate Democrats hope to finish crafting by early next week, smaller businesses that raise their workers' wages would be eligible for income tax credits equal to 25% of wages — up to $10,00[0] per employer to year — tax incentives to increase wages.

Some other elements here is AOC was saying the house bill passed with progressives because of the inclusion of the minimum wage piece so she thinks it is important Senate still gets it included. I don't really think there's much that group can do in the event it doesn't happen.

Ocasio-Cortez also challenged Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has expressed opposition to raising the minimum wage to $15 and has instead suggested that it be raised to $11 per hour.

"His own constituents, West Virginians, want a $15 minimum wage. So I don't even see what kind of leg he's standing on here where the majority of his own state doesn't agree with him," Ocasio-Cortez said. A February poll by the One Fair Wage Coalition, a group which supports a minimum wage hike, found that 63% of West Virginians support raising the minimum wage by 2025.

This brings back the possibility of this having to be part of the bill despite Manchin and Sinema's initial disapproval of a $15 across the board measure. However, the new proposal is different so it can't be assumed they are against this as well.

What's interesting here is this puts Hawley in an interesting spot because he proposed a plan that would make large companies (over a 1B in revenue) to pay $15 an hour and smaller companies would get a tax credit (nearly the same thing being proposed above). Very unlikely but you got a dimension there where he might consider voting for the package. It's a much larger package though 1.9T and minimum wage is just one piece of it that will possibly be included.

Original posting 1/23/21
One of Biden's relief bill measures has been to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. Furthermore, he is expected to raise the minimum pay for federal workers to $15 soon.

This debate had somewhat died down when it originally in 2016. Clinton at the time didn't originally support it, calling for a $12 hike with states/ localities capable of a higher rate to do so but then moved to $15 later on. About 3/5 of the states currently have a higher current minimum wage than the federal $7.25 rate. No states hold a $15 or higher minimum wage in 2021, with the closest being California at a conditional $14.00 and the District of Columbia holding $15.

A large difference in expectation showed up when Yellen's statements on the policy conflicted what the CBO expected with her saying:
“Right now we have millions of American workers who are putting their lives on the line to keep their communities functioning, and sometimes even working multiple jobs, aren’t earning enough to put food on the table and a roof over their heads,”.
A CBO report however has estimated possible job loses when analyzing a bill considering a 2025 $15 minimum:
“In an average week in 2025, the $15 option would boost the wages of 17 million workers who would otherwise earn less than $15 per hour. Another 10 million workers otherwise earning slightly more than $15 per hour might see their wages rise as well,” the CBO said. The budget analysts also calculated that “the number of people with annual income below the poverty threshold in 2025 would fall by 1.3 million.”
“1.3 million other workers would become jobless, according to CBO’s median estimate.” In addition, it said, “there is a two-thirds chance that the change in employment would be between about zero and a decrease of 3.7 million workers.”

Yellen says raising minimum wage to $15 would have ‘minimal’ impact on jobs, but nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office disagrees
MarketWatch

Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25 would help the U.S. economy more than it would harm it, Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s Treasury Secretary nominee, told lawmakers this week.

“Right now we have millions of American workers who are putting their lives on the line to keep their communities functioning, and sometimes even working multiple jobs, aren’t earning enough to put food on the table and a roof over their heads,” Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, told the Senate Finance Committee at her confirmation hearing.

Raising the minimum wage, she said, would “really help many of those workers” and job losses as a result of it would be “very minimal, if anything.”

Biden, in his recently unveiled stimulus proposal, is pushing for a $15 minimum wage and end tip credits — a way to pay tipped workers less than minimum wage. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009. Workers at this level earn roughly $15,000 a year if they work 40 hours a week.

Reading (open to adding more links if people ask for an add)
CBO Report about the $15 bill for 2025
Paul Distorts CBO’s Estimate on Impact of $15 Minimum Wage by FactCheck.org
Hillary Clinton knows a national $15 minimum wage is a bad idea. She endorsed it anyway. by Vox
Biden wants a $15 hourly federal minimum wage. Is America ready? by NBC News

 

[Lead]

Updated Post 4/14/21
Romney, Sinema teaming up on proposal to raise minimum wage
The Hill

Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are teaming up on a bill to increase the minimum wage.

Romney declined to provide details on the proposal, though he suggested that he and Sinema had largely reached an agreement.

“We’re negotiating a minimum wage proposal which we would ultimately take to our group of 20 and see how they react to it and then go from there,” Romney said, referring to a bipartisan group 20 centrist-minded senators.

Romney also wouldn’t disclose the phase-in timeline or what the minimum wage would be raised to.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told The Huffington Post, which first reported on the Romney-Sinema proposal, that he believed the bipartisan measure would raise the minimum wage to $11 per hour.

Updated Post 3/31/21
Chuck Schumer Eyes a Second Shot at Raising the Minimum Wage through Reconciliation
The Intercept

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER Chuck Schumer is considering putting a $15 minimum wage into the next reconciliation package, which will be focused on infrastructure, multiple sources familiar with the New York senator’s thinking told The Intercept.

Senate Democrats attempted to include the wage hike in President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 relief package, but the Senate parliamentarian ruled it was out of order, and Senate Democrats allowed that ruling to stand. An effort to overturn the ruling, which required 60 votes, garnered just 42.

Schumer has suggested to progressive groups that there is a glimmer of hope that the parliamentarian would rule differently this time: The new legislation is focused on infrastructure, and setting wages is directly related to the budget impact of any infrastructure spending. If there’s even a small chance of it working, he reasoned, it’s worth the fight.

Schumer, though, is encountering resistance from some backers of increasing the minimum wage, who argue that attempting to include it is doomed to fail just as it did last time, and in the process it will trigger another wave of indignation from the public at the failure. Debate over the $1.9 trillion relief package was consumed in its final days by anger over the lack of inclusion of the wage hike, with pressure on progressives to vote it down.

I mean, I don't think there's a penalty to continually ask the parliamentarian about different things. Maybe a time cost if there a formal procedure to the whole thing.


Updated Post 3/5/21
The eight Democrats who voted 'no' on $15 minimum wage
The Hill

One of President Biden’s top policy goals, an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, suffered a big setback Friday when eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted against it.

An effort by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to waive a procedural objection to adding the $15 minimum wage to a COVID-19 relief package was resoundingly defeated by a vote of 58-42 in which seven Democrats and one independent joined all 50 Republicans.

Kinda expected this. Manchin wasn't the only person actually against this and Bernie likely upset some of those in his party by making them have to reveal that.



Updated Post 3/1/21
Looks like Plan B is getting dropped too for now.
Senate Democrats drop proposal to penalize companies for not providing $15 minimum wage
CNN

Senate Democrats decided Sunday to abandon an alternative proposal to penalize companies for not providing a $15 minimum wage to their employees, the latest indication that boosting the federal minimum wage in this Congress remains an extremely tall order, according to a person involved in the talks.

After the House passed President Joe Biden's Covid-19 relief bill early Saturday morning -- with a provision raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour in stages by 2025 -- the bill is expected to hit the Senate floor this week, but without that same provision, which the Senate parliamentarian ruled doesn't fall within the rules of budget reconciliation, a process that allows Senate Democrats to pass the $1.9 trillion relief plan with just 51 votes.
Senate Democrats had a difficult time crafting the tax provisions in their alternative minimum wage proposal, sources said, so they are looking at other potential avenues to boost the rate. Yet it underscores the dire chances of boosting the wage after the parliamentarian's ruling.
If they can't find an alternative rate hike to fit into the budget reconciliation bill, which they're trying to pass by the middle of March, they will have to try to pass such a plan through regular order, meaning 60 votes would be needed in the 50-50 Senate.

The Senate could move to open debate on the bill as soon as Wednesday, with a marathon voting session on amendments -- known in the Senate as a vote-a-rama -- potentially Thursday. But the timing is still in flux.

Updated Post 2/27/21
Looks like they are making that second go of it with the payroll tax idea. It's a little different though. Looks like a 5% payroll tax would be imposed on "very large companies" who don't have the wage at a certain minimum. Additionally, there would be a tax credit for small companies who choose to raise their wages. The number itself is on the table as well but I think it's certainly possible they still stick with $15.

Senate Democrats move immediately to "Plan B" on minimum wage
CBS

The plan being drafted by aides to Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden of Oregon — in close consultation with Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders of Vermont — would impose a 5% payroll tax penalty on "very large" companies that do not pay workers a certain amount. That amount is still unclear: Wyden favors $15 an hour, but is currently seeking feedback from fellow Democrats on that figure and on exactly which companies would face the penalties.

"Everyone in the caucus is envisioning 'very large' companies – think Walmart, Amazon," a Senate Democratic aide told CBS News.

Under the proposal, which Senate Democrats hope to finish crafting by early next week, smaller businesses that raise their workers' wages would be eligible for income tax credits equal to 25% of wages — up to $10,00[0] per employer to year — tax incentives to increase wages.

Some other elements here is AOC was saying the house bill passed with progressives because of the inclusion of the minimum wage piece so she thinks it is important Senate still gets it included. I don't really think there's much that group can do in the event it doesn't happen.

Ocasio-Cortez also challenged Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has expressed opposition to raising the minimum wage to $15 and has instead suggested that it be raised to $11 per hour.

"His own constituents, West Virginians, want a $15 minimum wage. So I don't even see what kind of leg he's standing on here where the majority of his own state doesn't agree with him," Ocasio-Cortez said. A February poll by the One Fair Wage Coalition, a group which supports a minimum wage hike, found that 63% of West Virginians support raising the minimum wage by 2025.

This brings back the possibility of this having to be part of the bill despite Manchin and Sinema's initial disapproval of a $15 across the board measure. However, the new proposal is different so it can't be assumed they are against this as well.

What's interesting here is this puts Hawley in an interesting spot because he proposed a plan that would make large companies (over a 1B in revenue) to pay $15 an hour and smaller companies would get a tax credit (nearly the same thing being proposed above). Very unlikely but you got a dimension there where he might consider voting for the package. It's a much larger package though 1.9T and minimum wage is just one piece of it that will possibly be included.

Original posting 1/23/21
One of Biden's relief bill measures has been to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. Furthermore, he is expected to raise the minimum pay for federal workers to $15 soon.

This debate had somewhat died down when it originally in 2016. Clinton at the time didn't originally support it, calling for a $12 hike with states/ localities capable of a higher rate to do so but then moved to $15 later on. About 3/5 of the states currently have a higher current minimum wage than the federal $7.25 rate. No states hold a $15 or higher minimum wage in 2021, with the closest being California at a conditional $14.00 and the District of Columbia holding $15.

A large difference in expectation showed up when Yellen's statements on the policy conflicted what the CBO expected with her saying:
“Right now we have millions of American workers who are putting their lives on the line to keep their communities functioning, and sometimes even working multiple jobs, aren’t earning enough to put food on the table and a roof over their heads,”.
A CBO report however has estimated possible job loses when analyzing a bill considering a 2025 $15 minimum:
“In an average week in 2025, the $15 option would boost the wages of 17 million workers who would otherwise earn less than $15 per hour. Another 10 million workers otherwise earning slightly more than $15 per hour might see their wages rise as well,” the CBO said. The budget analysts also calculated that “the number of people with annual income below the poverty threshold in 2025 would fall by 1.3 million.”
“1.3 million other workers would become jobless, according to CBO’s median estimate.” In addition, it said, “there is a two-thirds chance that the change in employment would be between about zero and a decrease of 3.7 million workers.”

Yellen says raising minimum wage to $15 would have ‘minimal’ impact on jobs, but nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office disagrees
MarketWatch

Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25 would help the U.S. economy more than it would harm it, Janet Yellen, President Joe Biden’s Treasury Secretary nominee, told lawmakers this week.

“Right now we have millions of American workers who are putting their lives on the line to keep their communities functioning, and sometimes even working multiple jobs, aren’t earning enough to put food on the table and a roof over their heads,” Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, told the Senate Finance Committee at her confirmation hearing.

Raising the minimum wage, she said, would “really help many of those workers” and job losses as a result of it would be “very minimal, if anything.”

Biden, in his recently unveiled stimulus proposal, is pushing for a $15 minimum wage and end tip credits — a way to pay tipped workers less than minimum wage. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009. Workers at this level earn roughly $15,000 a year if they work 40 hours a week.

Reading (open to adding more links if people ask for an add)
CBO Report about the $15 bill for 2025
Paul Distorts CBO’s Estimate on Impact of $15 Minimum Wage by FactCheck.org
Hillary Clinton knows a national $15 minimum wage is a bad idea. She endorsed it anyway. by Vox
Biden wants a $15 hourly federal minimum wage. Is America ready? by NBC News

 

[Lord Coke]

One of Biden's relief bill measures has been to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15. Furthermore, he is expected to raise the minimum pay for federal workers to $15 soon.

This debate had somewhat died down when it originally in 2016. Clinton at the time didn't originally support it, calling for a $12 hike with states/ localities capable of a higher rate to do so but then moved to $15 later on. About 3/5 of the states currently have a higher current minimum wage than the federal $7.25 rate. No states hold a $15 or higher minimum wage in 2021, with the closest being California at a conditional $14.00 and the District of Columbia holding $15.

A large difference in expectation showed up when Yellen's statements on the policy conflicted what the CBO expected with her saying:
“Right now we have millions of American workers who are putting their lives on the line to keep their communities functioning, and sometimes even working multiple jobs, aren’t earning enough to put food on the table and a roof over their heads,”.
A CBO report however has estimated possible job loses when analyzing a bill considering a 2025 $15 minimum:
“In an average week in 2025, the $15 option would boost the wages of 17 million workers who would otherwise earn less than $15 per hour. Another 10 million workers otherwise earning slightly more than $15 per hour might see their wages rise as well,” the CBO said. The budget analysts also calculated that “the number of people with annual income below the poverty threshold in 2025 would fall by 1.3 million.”
“1.3 million other workers would become jobless, according to CBO’s median estimate.” In addition, it said, “there is a two-thirds chance that the change in employment would be between about zero and a decrease of 3.7 million workers.”

Yellen says raising minimum wage to $15 would have ‘minimal’ impact on jobs, but nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office disagrees
MarketWatch

Reading (open to adding more links if people ask for an add)
CBO Report about the $15 bill for 2025
Paul Distorts CBO’s Estimate on Impact of $15 Minimum Wage by FactCheck.org
Hillary Clinton knows a national $15 minimum wage is a bad idea. She endorsed it anyway. by Vox
Biden wants a $15 hourly federal minimum wage. Is America ready? by NBC News

Every robotoics engineer should be behind this. This is the end of human harvesting. These robots have been around but have been to expensive but now...

 

[Hellowhosthat]

$7.25? How can anyone live on that?

 

[Clifford_Harris]

3.7 million is minimal when there is 170,000,000 in the workforce. That's like 2%, gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet.

With that said, I don't know why it wasn't written that the federal minimum wage rises as inflation does. That way the increases are gradual and nowhere near as bad as trying to double it within a few years.

 

[Otto!]

Every robotoics engineer should be behind this. This is the end of human harvesting. These robots have been around but have been to expensive but now...

It always comes down to $. Once it’s cheaper to use robots, factoring in the acquisition and maintenance costs as well as their lifespan and performance, then the move will happen.

 

[Oceanmachine]

It should be minimum $15.

And yes let us wait for the "hyperinflation" the GOP is now talking about

 

[Lord Coke]

It always comes down to $. Once it’s cheaper to use robots, factoring in the acquisition and maintenance costs as well as their lifespan and performance, then the move will happen.

I find it ironic that a liberal policy will to a large degree end another liberal policy because a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage will curb illegal immigration more than anything else assuming there is enforcement.

 

[HereticBD]

I don't see how you implement that nationwide and not have it negatively effect tons of jobs and businesses. If every business was McDonalds and Walmart, then sure. They should have no problem. "Joe Bob's Electronics" in the armpit of Arkansas might be in a bit of a pickle though. A lot of people are gonna be going from $7.25/h to $0.00/h in their soon to be ghost town.

 

[blaseblah]

Until Trump we'd never gone two consecutive presidencies without seeing a minimum wage increase. Even Bush raised the minimum wage. The GOP has gone so far right that any increase at all is opposed, let alone 15.

 

[chiefwiggum]

That minimum wage hike will help a lot of 14-16 year olds better provide for there family. B

 

[HeffDoesWant]

Increase it 10% or 15% a year till 38 hours of it becomes enough to support the person working the job.

 

[jrams]

The devil is in the details, but it's about time minimum wage increased.

I find it ironic that a liberal policy will to a large degree end another liberal policy because a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage will curb illegal immigration more than anything else assuming there is enforcement.

How does that follow? Isn't part of the appeal of illegal workers is that they will work for less and have no legal recourse for complaining to Department of Labor? I assume it will do the opposite towards illegal immigration because there is no additional enforcement tied to the minimum wage going up/down.

 

[CantCucktheTuck]

That minimum wage hike will help a lot of 14-16 year olds better provide for there family. B

to be fair...they probaly have kids to feed.

 

[chiefwiggum]

to be fair...they probaly have kids to feed.

no. The better course of action would be to not work.

 

[nostradumbass]

What a great idea after they shut everyone's business down, make it far more expensive to reopen one.

Why would this be done at the federal level? Each state can and already does set their own based on cost of living.

$7.25? How can anyone live on that?

Easily when you're not the breadwinner or it's a tipped job, or commissioned, which is what almost all of them are. There's a reason it's mostly white women and HS/college age kids(mostly servers and bartenders, and some additional commissioned retail) and mostly part time jobs.

BTW, that's not even federal MW, that's all MW and each state sets theirs. This notion that MW earners are people raising a family of 9 is silly. It's married women who aren't the breadwinner, servers and bartenders, and teenagers.

 

[Lord Coke]

The devil is in the details, but it's about time minimum wage increased.



How does that follow? Isn't part of the appeal of illegal workers is that they will work for less and have no legal recourse for complaining to Department of Labor? I assume it will do the opposite towards illegal immigration because there is no additional enforcement tied to the minimum wage going up/down.

Illegal aliens that work for employers (as opposed to the guys in front of home depot) work under assumed identities typically. Even if they don't California and presumably other liberal states will enforce labor laws on their behalf without alerting the feds.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

What a great idea after they shut everyone's business down, make it far more expensive to reopen one.

Why would this be done at the federal level? Each state can and already does set their own based on cost of living.


Easily when you're not the breadwinner or it's a tipped job, or commissioned, which is what almost all of them are. There's a reason it's mostly white women and HS/college age kids(mostly servers and bartenders, and some additional commissioned retail) and mostly part time jobs.

BTW, that's not even federal MW, that's all MW and each state sets theirs. This notion that MW earners are people raising a family of 9 is silly. It's married women who aren't the breadwinner, servers and bartenders, and teenagers.

Oh okay, we just do minimum wage by age group over here.

 

[Trotsky]

IMO Hillary Clinton's original position was correct.

$12 federal minimum wage, provide guidelines to municipal governments to craft their own minimum wages based on average property values and median income.