PHOENIX — Saying younger workers need jobs, a House panel voted today to allow companies to pay them less.
A lot less.
Legislation approved by the House Commerce Committee would set the minimum wage for anyone younger than 22 at 75 percent of what adults are required to be paid. With the state minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, that translates out to $5.44.
The minimum wage for everyone else is pegged to inflation and would increase next January if the Industrial Commission finds that costs have gone up. HB 2639 would track that increase — and then cut it by a quarter.
The exception would begin in January and last for three years.
You have got to be kidding me. This will have the effect of throwing even more adults out of work. Many laid off workers are trying to feed their families by working at pizza joints, or movie theatres, or other low-paying positions traditionally filled by youngsters. What will happen when these employers can fill these jobs for 25% less? Yep. The bread winners (such as it is) will be back in the damn unemployment line, dying a little bit inside every time they cash that UE check to buy groceries for their kids.
Have these people lost their minds?
Actually, I have believed in, and argued for a 'training wage' to be given to younger workers in order to get them into the job market, and pooh-poohed the idea of minimum wage earners being family breadwinners.
ReplyDeleteBUT, that was under very different conditions than we are facing now.
Now I don't know what to think about it.
There are many laid-off workers trying to survive on minimum wage right now. I have a friend who has a Bachelors degree in business who is holding down a receptionist's desk for $8.00 an hour...and grateful to have THAT job. It's ugly out here in the real world. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm with Sid. Normally I would go with the "training" wage. And normally, I would not invest money in gold. But these are strange times.
ReplyDeleteWhen we have the President telling us how proud he is of the "progress" he has made with the economy in the past year, you know we are in trouble.