In June 2014 Seattle’s city council unanimously voted to
raise the local minimum wage to $15 per hour. The change is going to be gradual
allowing larger businesses with 500 or more employees up to five years to
transition, and smaller businesses will have up to seven years.
For some the increase has been beneficial. It provides extra
money to spend for families that were already struggling before and puts more
money into the hands of the people.
Immediately, the effects of the raise seems beneficial, but
it’s also important to look at the long term effects too. Larger corporations
or businesses may have an easier time putting out extra money for employees;
however, smaller businesses are being hit hard. In order to compensate and
balance for the raise in money put out, the businesses are being forced to
raise the prices of products and services, making the cost of living higher for
many. Some businesses are even having to
sacrifice certain benefits and vacation time for their employees.
While the increase of minimum wage immediately benefits our
workers, it is important to also look at the long term effects. Our challenge
to you is to ask yourself, “Does the good of now outweigh what could happen
down the road?”
Pretty good
ReplyDeleteWhy does Seattle need he highest minimum wage in the country? Doesn't a $15 minimum wage just encourage people to get lower level jobs rather then furthering their education and pursuing higher level jobs?
ReplyDeleteYessssss! We feel the same way! Also if you raise everyone's pay to $15 like supervisors and employee's, I feel the employee's won't want to be told what to do by someone that is on the same "level" as them
DeleteI enjoyed your blog, there are a lot of good points and I enjoyed how you pointed out the long term and short term effects of $15 minimum wage. I also enjoyed how you ended with a ququestion; I feel as though the answer to your question could be that this could positively effect some and negatively effect others.
ReplyDelete