Comments on: Federal Minimum Wage Increase

By: Mark Andersen

Mark Andersen — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:25:02 +0000

You know, now that I think about this a bit more, I’ve never had a job that paid minimum wage… ever. I always made at least $1 more in base pay, sometimes as much as $5 with tips when I was a busboy in middle school and high school.

Still, that’s $936 a month before taxes… that’s cheaper than I’ve ever lived.

By: mnc

mnc — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:28:57 +0000

It would be awfully difficult in my opinion but that isn’t to say there aren’t people doing it.

The great majority of people earning minimum wage are teenagers and young adults. Many of them still live at home with their parents so they can make do with a lower wage.

It would be very difficult to raise a family making that money though. Even a single person or a couple would have to live very frugally to make it on minimum wage.

Thankfully I am in a position where my family and I do not have to live that struggle, although my wife and I lived a handful of years before we had kids making peanuts and eating ramen.

By: Sara

Sara — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:04:40 +0000

I agree with everything you say and I’m grateful that the wage has been increased. But let’s be realistic, can anyone really live off of $5.85 an hour?

By: Mark Andersen

Mark Andersen — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 02:44:11 +0000

…Too bad it won’t result in a mandatory pay raise for everyone who reads PF blogs…

By: More Merchant

More Merchant — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 18:54:39 +0000

The problem with an increase like this is what the cost of things go up even more than the minimum wage.

For instance it is proven that those that eat at Fast Food predominately make less than $35000 a year. So these are wokers that are not making a lot are the one’s spending the money at Fast Food.

The same Fast Food place raises their cost of what they sell far more than is justified to meet the minimum wage increase.

So in the end it hurts those that make less when the minimum wage increases. The idea of a minimum wage increase sounds good but only hurts those it is designed to help.

By: bill

bill — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 14:02:53 +0000

Out of site, out of mind. If it’s deducted before you receive your check, you really don’t miss it.

By: mnc

mnc — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:37:13 +0000

Absolutely, I’ve posted numerous times about the importance of creating an automatic savings plan. Even if it is just $5-10 per week (or even month) it is important to get in the habit of saving and doing so before you give yourself the opportunity to spend the money.

By: Kevin (The Credit Camp)

Kevin (The Credit Camp) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 09:35:59 +0000

Your last paragraph is right on. While those working in low paying jobs need every dollar they can get, allocating a portion of an increase before it has a chance to be “absorbed” by all of life’s demands really is the best opportunity.