San Francisco: First American city with $10 minimum wage

[Hector]

SF becomes first US city to top $10 minimum wage - Yahoo! Finance


Of course there's a catch...San Francisco also happens to be one of the most expensive cities to live in the nation...

[wolfie]

and about time too. Why is this not law in the USA, it is in the UK, i think the minimum wage over here now is £6.20 an hour.

[Adam West]

and about time too. Why is this not law in the USA, it is in the UK, i think the minimum wage over here now is £6.20 an hour.

Every state has an established minimum wage. In Maryland, it is $8 an hour.

[toys2cool]

man that's crazy

[Cmonster]

God bless anyone who can live on that kind of money-- Ten bucks an hour for a standard 40 hour work week, comes out to 1,600 dollars a month. Christ, that's not even enough to cover my mortgage... Let alone all the other bills. Then there's food, gas, etc... And I'm SINGLE. I don't know how people with families do it. I truly don't.

SC

[megojim]

Wow, when I think about my first job ($2.75hr) that sounds like a lot but I know that today it isn't. However, it's all about living within your means . . . when I made $400 a week I spent money like I made $400 a week . . . it's not a complicated process.

Sandy, marry a girl that makes as much or more than you, that's the ideal plan anyway . . .

[Bill]

Minimum wage is just that. [grumbly, republican thoughts]

[mego73]

Minimum wage was never meant to be a "living wage" it was meant to be a minimum to pay entry level workers such as teenagers, etc. The price for establishing a high minimum wage is that many entry level workers are now too expensive to hire based upon what they are employed to do. So, there will be fewer entry level employees and they will take on more work then they used to.

[Zemo]

Minimum wage was never meant to be a "living wage" it was meant to be a minimum to pay entry level workers such as teenagers, etc. The price for establishing a high minimum wage is that many entry level workers are now too expensive to hire based upon what they are employed to do. So, there will be fewer entry level employees and they will take on more work then they used to.

Exactly.

[wolfie]

In the UK the minimum wage is just used as a green light to employers to pay people as little as possible. Why employ someone at £10 per hour when you can employ someone at £6 per hour and comply with the law.

[Adam West]

It's a rough economy right now (no big surprises). My 17 year old is having a hard time getting work at McDonald's or even bagging groceries at the local supermarket for minimum wage because there are out of work adults competing with him for the job.

Minimum wage for someone like my son who doesn't have any expenses other than wants; it is great but for an adult trying to make ends meat....horrible.

[Brazoo]

In Ontario minimum wage is $10.25 per hour, for students $9.60.

[Brazoo]

Minimum wage was never meant to be a "living wage" it was meant to be a minimum to pay entry level workers such as teenagers, etc. The price for establishing a high minimum wage is that many entry level workers are now too expensive to hire based upon what they are employed to do. So, there will be fewer entry level employees and they will take on more work then they used to.

Well, I don't agree with that conclusion and political outlook - but, I guess we'd have to discuss that someplace else.

[ctc]

Hmmmm....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msHf2lGCZGk

Don C.

[almitysufx]

The problem I have with raising the min wage, and this happened to when I was starting out, someone driven works hard to get the raise and after they are rewarded for their hard work, the government gives that raise to everyone. I started a min wage job when it was $3.50 I earned 2 $.25 raises to be at $4.00 and the min was raised to $3.85 within a month after. I applied myself further and got an asst mgr. position which gave me much more responsibility and a $.50 raise. Soon after min wage was raised to $4.00. I had worked hard and been at that shop for 2 years, taken on running one of the 3 stores in this local chain and I was only paid $.50 more than any new employee.
I'm tired of people being rewarded for nothing. I understand that the job situation in the country is just plain bad and there are adults with families now taking these min wage jobs. No one said life was easy and no one should expect the government to give them a living wage just because they can't find one on their own.
I am blessed to have the job I have, but even getting the job I have, I've applied myself to earn every available raise I could get leaving me in a position where my wage is topped out. In order to make ends meet I work a lot of overtime and have taken odd jobs now and then.

When the minimum wage is raised, to off set the extra wages places have to pay out, prices get raised. When prices are raised, everyone's out of pocket expenses go up, but the only people who are making more income are the people getting minimum wage.