Minimum wage to be increased...finally!

I am glad that minimum wage will finually increase. It has been a long time since I made minimum wage, but it is nice to see they are finually going to get it where it needs to be. WHo can live on 5.15 an hour??

i'm from the philippines. the workers' wage here is definitely low and their condition very pathetic. at present, the daily minimum wage has been standing at a national average of P283.67 ($5.78) while the lowest daily minimum wage is P170 ($3.47). this when the daily living wage for a family of six (the average Filipino family) is now standing at a national average of P674.93 ($13.76). for almost a decade now, the workers and employees (both in the private and public sectors) have been waiting for the approval of the legislated wage hike that is P125 ($2.55) across the board nationwide. but sad to say, the Philippine Congress has not approved it yet, and the present government shows no apparent interest to push for it.

Well, the last time they tried something like this unfortunately, the President turned it down. And who knows if it will be able to pass this time either? But I feel it is time they do more about raising the National minimum wage, but then the same issue is some States are considered CHEAP to live in than others, and so if you are making like $7.72 or $8 which is about minimum wage here, you still need another income to even begin to survive. So does that mean the states that pay around $8 should force the Governor, etc of their state to raise the minimum wages there to at least $9?

I heard this on the news too tonight and then there was some debate about how it will affect small business owners-which it will ultimately. They may try to give them some kind of tax break or something but it is an objection at this point. I think that $7.50 or so is ok for some but there is a group that will be shut out by the new wage increases that makes about that now.

Increase in wages result in inflation of everything associated with the cost of living. The only way this will help is if inflation is controlled and we retain a living cost similar to the current costs. Otherwise, people are just being paid more to be in the same economic situation.

An increase in minimum wage means a raise only for those who make minimum wage. For the rest of us, who won't be getting a raise, we will still see an increase in prices. For example, as soon as this increase was announced, my granddaughter's day care increased their rates 40.00 per month to cover their increased payroll. My daughter, who was making more than minumum wage, but barely enough to meet the bills, can no longer afford day care. Losing her day care meant losing her job. In the next few months, look for prices to increase across the board as the places that traditionally employ minimum wager -- convenience stores, gas stations, fast food restaurants -- need to make up the difference in their payroll. As time goes on, look for a ripple effect as labor organizations start demanding raises for their members. And others who did not get a raise but get hit with increased prices begin charging more for their goods/services.

Where I live the min. wage is 5.15, yeah pretty low huh? If it does go up, people will just start to raise prices to make up for the loss of having to pay their employees more. And in the end there will really not be a difference.

I just heard about this! I couldn't believe it. I didn't hear the specifics though so 7.25 is a good start. I feel it should even be higher than that. At least 10 dollars.

YOUR COUNTRY IS GREAT WHERE THE MINIMUM WAGE IS $7.25 AN HOUR.IF YOU KNOW MY COUNTRY'S MINIMUM WAGE THEN YOU SHOULD TREAT YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE IN HEAVEN AND WE ARE IN HELL.IN MY COUNTRY THE MINIMUM WAGE IS RS.80/- PER DAY.

i live in indiana an its $5.15 an who can live off of $5.15.they need to increase all at once.who can provide for a family at $5.85 an send their kids to schools an dr.bills, food no way i could.an they should raise the minimum wage to $9.00 an hr an then it still would be hard to make ends meet

I live in New York and that already happened here. This system has been in order here for a while and We just started the $7.25 phase this January.

well i live in pakistan and there isn't any such regulations... don't ask about it... its just mis-use of skill and resource around...:(

I think $7.25 would be good. The problem is that the housing market is so high. When you have to pay out more than you make to keep a roof over your head there is a problem. At $7.25 you can probably make ends meet. Today at $5.15 an hour you can't have an apartment or a house because it just isn't enough money to go round. The minimum wage is going up in stages sucks but it is better than nothing. The only thing that goes up fast is taxes. The increase is over due even if it takes a little while to get it.

I am actually quite angry that this happend. People foolishly think that raising minimum wage will make them better off, but it won't. It is still impossible to support yourself on minimum wage and it will just lead to an increase in prices. I am in college and had been making $8.00 an hour for quite some time. Now that minimum wage increased I'm making $8.00 still. I have had the same job for over 2 years and it took me that long to get to $8.00 which was $1.25/hour more than minimum wage ($6.75). Now that minimum wage is $7.50 I'm making just $0.50/hour more than minimum wage.

I was looking on this website and am I readiong this right? The minimum wage in Kansas is 2.65? http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm#Arizona If you scroll all the way down to Kansas

Thats great. I'm a little upset with my work place though. With the miniman wage going up i don't get a cost of living increase this year. So when it does become $7.25 I'll be making $9.00 if i'm lucky and i've been at my job for almost 4 years. So i'm a little disapointed. I realy on those rasies because i've got 4 kids to support. Sorry if it seems that i'm ranting about the amount that i'm paid. I'm a little frustrated thats all. I'm glade that it's going up to $7.25 an hour because this will help all of those other single parents and the family's that need the money to pay rent,heat, power and all of those other bills that us grown ups get.

As far as I knew, minimum wage is different in different states. SO is this rule going to standardise everything. When I was in FLorida, I remember minimum wage was $5.15. However in Virginia I think it is somewhere around $6. Thanks for sharing. Would like to know more.

The state I live in uses the federal set minimum wage. I myself personally believe local governments (state, county, city) should be the ones setting minimum wage. Cost of living varies widely from state to state (and even city to city within a state) so I don't quite understand how this will fix things. Because it is going to create high expenses for employers, it isn't likely going to increase pay levels for higher level employees. It's just going to bump those people at less than 7.25 up to 7.25. I guess one nice thing is that for a short while living in these lower cost areas will become more attractive to people who can't earn more than minimum wage. Of course, cost of living will eventually go up in those areas since increasing minimum wage does nothing to the employee's productivity. Hopefully employers don't have to make up the difference by reducing employee benefits... I guess this is one of those wait and see issues. I personally don't think it will have any positive effect on the economy (or at least the local economy here where I live) or our standards of living in the long run since all other markets/pricing will eventually adjust to keep up.

We already have the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, I believe. Actually, it should be higher but let's face it we've had 7 years of the Republican party in power in Washington and raising minimum wage is never a Republican priority. Awfully hard to live on $7.25 per hour when you have to pay $70/hour to an auto mechanic when your car breaks down, $125/hour to a doctor for a routine visit (If you're luckey), $15-$20 hour to a hairdresser and the proverbial arm & a leg to a good dentist if you can find one without a closed practice.

wow here in canada minimum wage is already like 8 bucks 7.85 i believe to be exact. Under 6 bucks an hour how could you possibly live off of that?