If I Had to Live on $7.25 An Hour, I’d Move Out of New York

There is a lot of pressure on the federal and state level right now to raise the minimum wage of $7.25 to something workers can actually live on. People who are for an increase argue that the minimum wage should be a living wage. People who are against an increase argue that it places a burden on small businesses because it means they can’t hire more people, and having to pay their employees more means having to raise the costs of their products. I don’t know about you, but I’m more than happy to spend a couple more bucks to ensure that the people who work at the establishments that I frequent are paid a fair wage. I’ve worked at several places that paid a minimum wage when I was in high school and college (Baby Gap, Barnes and Noble, a comic book store), and I certainly didn’t think I could live off of the money I was earning at any of those places. Giving workers more disposable income is probably good for local economies, and the state of Washington already has a minimum wage that’s above $9. Massachusetts wants to raise its minimum wage to $10, which would be revolutionary in its own little way, and perhaps prove to other people that these sort of policies can work.

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