America's Skimpy Minimum Wage

[marmar]

Published on Thursday, January 5, 2012 by [font color="green"]Institute for Policy Studies Blog[/font]
America's Skimpy Minimum Wage

by Salvatore Babones


In 2012, the 63 million Americans who depend on Social Security are getting their first cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in three years: a 3.6 percent increase in benefits. In other words, one in five Americans are getting a raise. For the average beneficiary, this amounts to an extra $38.95 a month.

That's not much, but it's something.

For workers earning the federal minimum wage, the COLA for 2012 is…zero. Washington raised the minimum wage to $7.25 on July 24, 2009, and there it stands. There's no regular COLA for the federal minimum wage. (Eight states, which set their own minimum wages slightly higher than the federal level, are raising them in 2012.)

COLAs are necessary because inflation constantly changes the dollar's value. A dollar today isn't worth the same as a dollar yesterday. The year-to-year changes are small, but over time they add up. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that it costs $4.58 today to buy what a buck bought in 1974. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/01/05

[hedgehog]

1. I see employees being paid to stand out in front of their

business waving a sign. This is proof positive to me that the minimum wage is too low.

[Not Me]

2. That annoys the hell out of me

What a waste of human capital. Put some effort into productive training of the sign spinners and grow your business.