$15 Minimum Wage

Apparently yesterday there were some protests demanding the minimum wage be increased to $15 per hour. For a full time job, that’s $30,000 a year (2000 hours x the wage.)  SEIU was involved in arranging some of these protests. Unions like the minimum wage increased because many other their contracts are based on some multiple of the minimum wage. Paying an employee $15 an hour costs the employer more than that. The employer has to pay his portions of the payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicaid) equal to the employee’s portion that’s withheld from his paycheck. The employer also has higher Unemployment Insurance rates. And that’s just the start. The people who were previously already getting $15 will want a raise too. Why should their pay suddenly be the same as the lowest paid employees? They worked to get above minimum, and now they’re just at minimum. Some employers’ payrolls are pretty tight in their budgets. They just can’t afford to raise everyone’s pay. People aren’t in business to provide jobs to other people. Jobs are a beneficial side effect of having a business. Employees with the job skills that employers want are more valuable. Employees can get training at a job, but if the come in fully trained they save the company the costs of training and can garner a higher wage. So, it’s time to bring this photo out again: