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AP Photo, Cathleen Allison
Danny Thompson, a lobbyist for the state AFL-CIO, speaks Monday, Feb. 14, 2011 at a rally in front of the Legislature in Carson City. On Wednesday, Thompson spoke out against efforts to repeal the state’s minimum wage law.
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011 | 3:39 p.m.
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Sun Coverage
CARSON CITY – Abolishing Nevada's minimum wage would hurt low-paid workers who are spending their money locally while executives and higher-paid workers wouldn't see a change, labor representatives said Wednesday.
But representatives of employer groups urged a Senate committee to approve a proposed constitutional amendment to scrap the minimum wage law and requirements they say result in businesses not hiring, in some cases.
Before a packed hearing room, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Energy took testimony on Senate Joint Resolution 2, which would put the issue before voters over whether to eliminate the requirement that employers pay a minimum wage.
Nevada’s minimum wage is $8.25 an hour unless the employer provides qualified health insurance to the worker and his or her dependents. If health insurance is provided, the minimum wage drops to $7.25 cents an hour.
Danny Thompson, representing the Nevada AFL-CIO, told the committee that well-paid workers are putting their money in Swiss bank accounts while minimum wage earners are spending in the community.
Rita Weisshaar, who retired from NV Energy, noted a recent newspaper story reported that Michael Yackira, president and CEO of the utility, is earning $4.5 million a year.
“Take a look at the higher paid employees” instead of lower paid workers, she urged.
Samuel McMullen, representing the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, argued that a minimum wage shouldn't be locked into the constitution. "Let the people take it out and manage it on a case-by-case basis," he said.
Putting it in the constitution had some unintended consequences, McMullen said. For instance, restaurant servers make money off tips but they still enjoy minimum wage protection.
“Allow it to be revisited by the public,” McMullen urged the committee.
The Legislature rejected setting a minimum wage, so labor representatives circulated an initiative petition to set the minimum wage and tie it to the cost of living. Voters in 2004 approved the minimum wage initiative 68.3 to 31.6 percent, and voted again in 2006, 68.7 to 31.2 percent.
Gail Tuzzola, political coordinator for the AFL-CIO, said the current initiative to abolish the minimum wage would take money away from the lowest paid workers. She motioned around the room, many of those present wearing suits, and said, “Nobody in this room would be affected.”
Thompson said the amendment would “be a slap in the face” of the people who overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment on minimum wage.
Sen. James Settelmeyer, R-Minden, questioned why people shouldn't have a chance to vote on the issue again. Thompson answered that voters signed a petition initially to get the issue on the ballot.
McMullen, joined by the Nevada Retail Association, said the chamber opposes the minimum wage law being cemented in the constitution. He said circumstances have changed.
The committee didn't take action on the resolution. It would have to be passed by this and the next regular session of the Legislature, and then approved by voters.
GOP scum
How about we lower the maximum wage allowed?
Voters approve, politicians destroy, and corporate leaders steal. This is where the people should stand up for each other no matter what ideology you claim. This is what Jefferson warned us about during the founding and building of this country. that one day politicians and the wealthy would use the process of government to ignore the peoples will and lay waste to our freedoms. Republicans not democrats should recall this clown for those reasons. Don't put your head down, people stand up!
Hey now, we certainly don't want to cut into the bonuses of the greedy bastards at the top, do we?
these maggots just don't gave a damn about anyone but themselves...
they just don't care how badly they hurt people...
maggots...
scum...
slime...
@skid: great post. Thank you.
birdie. You are an idiot.
Don't you know that every skilled person once had a job that provided them experience to get a better job or money to pay for an education to get a better job.
Under the current minimum wage people like me simply wont hire the inexperienced as they are just too unproductive. I also won't hire the unskilled or uneducated. The cost is too high with all the rules, matching taxes....... They simply are not worth it.
So your argument that they just don't give a damn is nuts.
If you truly care about people, give them a chance at a job. Then they can do better for themselves with skill, education and experience and either demand to be paid more or leave. Being employed is a mutual agreement. If at anytime someone wants out they can.
What you fail to understand (because you are an idiot) is you are hurting the people you think you are protecting by not letting them get a job. Some people with some skillsets simply are not worth the 12 bucks an hour it costs to employ them, and it's not fair for you to say they are worth ZERO. Under your plan, they get ZERO!
I'll make it real simple:
I am an employer. My business could use another employee. I can only afford to pay him $7.25/hour. Because of the $8.25 minimum right now I can not hire him. He is unemployed and I am short a worker. LOL great system!!!
hey tbvegas...
sorry charlie...
me thinks you are full of crap...
that you just want some more dollars in your pocket...
you clowns always have a pathetic tortured rationalization at the ready...
but the bottom line is always the same...
more money for you...
period...
end of story...
From Wikipedia on Distribution of Wealth:
In the United States at the end of 2001, 10% of the population owned 71% of the wealth and the top 1% owned 38%. On the other hand, the bottom 40% owned less than 1% of the nation's wealth.
When the minimum wage is abolished, the executives will receive a larger expense account, more benefits and no one new will be hired - the existing employees will just be driven harder.
"Those that have want to have it all". That's all this bill is, looking to pull the last few spending dollars from their employees and when they get sick: fire them and lock them up - for $30,000/year if they steal food to eat.
America already imprisons a larger percentage of it's population then any other country in the world. Get ready for more slammers and guards...in a "business friendly Nation" (gag).
@thepalms999, I'm going to call you out on that one.
Your business must be in real trouble if you can't afford to pay an employee $8.25 an hour!
I would love to see your books! Something tells me you are mismanaging your money, or that your business is already DOA and should be closed...
hey palms...
that $40 a week ain't what did it...
sorry charlie...
my bull$#!^ meter just exploded...
lol...
@birdiedreamin;
you must not understand competition within the market. if one business owner A is willing to live off of less total profit than business owner B, which in turn would allow business owner A to lower their prices, the greedier of the two will lose business and eventually go out of business.
I'd like to hire 2 employees this summer, one for sales, the other for labor, but i wont under the current minimum wage laws. i doubt either worker wont immediately produce, thus be worth the $8.25 +state taxation that comes along with said worker.
do employees really think their hourly wage is what an employer pays towards that employee? think again. an employer pays 7.5% income tax for that employee, they also pay unemployment tax as well. an average minimum wage worker will cost his/her employer about $11/hour.
maybe you are the employee because you do not possess the intelligence to be the employer? and to boot, i doubt you'd even be a good employee!!!
great post tbvegas.
Samjung- thanks for your concern but my business is actually doing fine. By "afford" I mean that I estimate hiring the new employee will make me another $8.00/hour in profit. If I have to pay 8.25/hour, I'm losing money by hiring the employee. If I can pay 7.25/hour, someone gets a job and I make money, win-win. The minimum wage law is the only thing getting in the way.
I hate to say it, but you know it's true: "If you took all the money from the rich and gave it all to the poor, the rich would have it all back in 10 years".
Government has no right dictating labor compensation -- to or for anyone.
Did you know that not all states have minimum wage laws -- while some State's have rates which are higher or lower than those which are subjected to the federal labor standards act?
Not all Countries have minimum wage laws either -- currently nine of the twenty seven members in the European Union do not have minimum wage laws -- relying instead upon employer groups and trade unions to set minimum earnings through the collective bargaining process.
All labor should have written/enforceable contractual agreements.
Refs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wag...
http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.h...
: {
@mrbeaujangles, thepalms999, you sound like a couple of college Economics majors. I used to manage a business. You don't have to be a business genius to know that unless these places had a high profit margin, there would be no point of staying in business. If you are having trouble paying a minimum wage employee, you shouldn't be in business.
Financial mismanagement and irresponsible owners are the root cause of most business failures. If you truly needed another employee, it should be easy to afford the cost of paying for one. Are you lazy and don't want to work? Do you want other people to do all of your work? Well, I'm sorry, you need to reevaluate whether or not it is worth continuing to open your doors!
Also, do you run a business that is one of those scam franchises that requires you to hand over 10% of ALL REVENUE and buy supplies from the franchiser's designated company for an exorbitant price? LOL, if so, you are just a sucker!!! Don't blame the government, blame your stupidity!
c_bess - if you are trying to live on minimum wage- you should be!
vanguard - your right - we work
birdie - yes the $40 a week did it, and if you had a brain you would no it was actually about $50 with fees and bs that goes along with it. Actually it is about 60-70 because of the lack of productivity and damage done by unskilled.
samjung23 - all businesses are in trouble - read the paper about all the BK's
To all - you are right - I have mine and I worked for it. I believe others have the right to earn theirs too. if you make it too difficult for me to help others with a job, then I won't.
There is one reason not to support a minimum wage - greed.
If you are an employer and your employer is not worth $8.25, fire that person.
If you are an employer and can afford $7.25, but not $8.25 (thepalms999), you might consider reevaluating you business plan.
If you are an employer and want a decent employee, you will find one, and they will be worth no less than minimum wage. If you feel they are not, they are not worth having.
Greed folks. Greed.
thepalms999: "I can only afford to pay him $7.25/hour. Because of the $8.25 minimum right now I can not hire him."
Listen to the MATH: If palms999 could save $1/hour, he could hire two people for $7.25/hr vs. one for $8.25/hr.
What really happens is that two people get hired at $7.25/hr BUT are cut to 20 hrs/week each.
Then these two are called as "consultants" or "managers" and may legally work more then 20 hrs/wk due to their classification. Palms now gets 60 hrs/wk for a labor bill of $7.25x40 hrs, a true wage of $4.83/hr for the time spent and NO TIPS!
Yabadabadoo ! The alligator just ate you.
Basically it breaks down to those wanting no minimum wage want legal slaves. Period.
westvegas - do you know what you just said?
You just said some people are not worth hiring and are not worthy of a job.
On one hand you are right, they are not worth 8.25 an hour ($11+ with fees)
On the other you are cruel, because they should be worth more than ZERO!
In Nevada, the poor Nevadans already pay a significantly larger share of their income towards taxes than their wealthy counterparts. Why not just make them poorer?
Harley: "Government has no right dictating labor compensation -- to or for anyone." Oh yeah?
This also means the Government no right to pick a minimum age for work, so child labor as existed at the turn of the century can return.
However, the People of this Country have a right to dictating labor compensation by consensus vote, that's what the Government is about - "Of by and for the people".
To say "the Government has no Rights" really means "the PEOPLE HAVE NO RIGHTS", and that is incorrect.
Join the GOP in taking the US to 3rd world status !!!
The rich need more money, a peon worker should be happy with what he can get!!!
No more unions or collective bargaining, wages can be trimmed to under $20k a year, companies will make more profits!!!
Also, help the GOP crush education, the peon workers don't need more than basic skills.
With your help, and support, the GOP can fully take the US right back to 1870 era standards !!!!
VOTE REPUBLICAN !!!!!!!!!!!!
tbvegas, I'm fully aware of what I said.
If they are not worth minimum wage, don't hire them. If they are worth hiring, pay them minimum wage. I'm not suggesting any business throw their money away. Absolutely not. Just pay a resemblance of a minimum wage of don't hire.
Minimum wage is not a living. Small business owners really don't care about that. If you can't afford to pay someone 8.25 an hour but can afford 7.00....10 dollars over the course of an 8 hour shift...
Your business model sucks. If the employee was good, honest and worked hard I would gladly take the money out of my own pocket to pay a decent wage. At worst, the minimum. Most of your small business owners dodge taxes like no other with bogus write off's that the IRS doesn't care about and will never question. (Car's, cell phones, insurance, gas, home office, groceries)
Most looking to repeal the law probably want to hire illegals for 5/hr.
Palms999,
Tell people about what you have been given by the government in the last two years.
Hire Act of 2010=gave businesses tax credit and tax break, plus $1,000 if you kept the new employee for more than a year.
Affordable Health Care Act= 35-50% tax credit for you and your employees health care premiums.
Small Business Jobs Act= elimination of capital gains tax, higher loan guarantees, highest ever expensing elections, and other small business benefits.
If you don't know about these things, then you will be destroyed by your competitors that do. If you know about these things and you still want more, then your just another greedy ...
It is less of a matter that we understand competition in the market and more of a matter that competition should not lose sight of humanity. The insult toward some of the posts here as unintelligent enough to work for an employer is a bit extreme. Perhaps your business is too small and you have not progressed to the point where you can afford to pay a worker a decent wage - if a dollar is hurting your business so much.
This entire discussion is more evidence of how we are becoming a zero-sum society. I would not want any of my employees to not be able to make a decent wage and have a decent life. I hope that philosophy is held by employers who do not want to profit at all costs. mrbeaujangles - Your argument is that you will go out of business. Perhaps you will. On the contrary, I find that businesses that treat people humanely and fairly often thrive over the competition.
@skid, don't business owners get money for hiring employees on welfare? I always used to wonder why my boss hired these sketchy people. I always complained to him about it. I didn't figure it out until someone told me near the end of my employment there.
Anyways, my boss, the owner, always used to take vacations and live a lifestyle I thought was way beyond his means, even though he always claimed business was bad and we needed to cut costs. He was so full of it. Never believe a word these scumbags say.
On the other hand, you have these idiotic unions that want the average worker to get paid $100K a year and impossible to fire, which is absolutely ridiculous in its own right.
My main problem with this is that there are hard and fast rules in the state constitution. This should have been addressed with legislation.
If legislators don't pass the laws you want, then elect new representatives who will.
You're Wal-Mart(or pick the Corporation of Choice) training your employees how to fill in forms for Government Assistance, yet you make Billions - are owned by Billionaires - and want even lower wages and fewer benefits.
If the Workers don't organize soon there will be no-one left to make the Rich - Rich. Any skill valuable. Or a Country worth fighting for.
The right Wing Politicians, Corporations, The Supreme Court and other Wealth Brokers are all alligned against the middle class.
After the Civil War through the first half of the 1900's, this nation set out to build a great society. We built the best universities in the world, we built the best transportation corridors the world had ever seen, we produced the greatest public works projects the world has ever known (ie the Golden Gate Bridge and the Hoover Dam). We went from an uneducated, war-ravaged, backwoods country to the greatest most prosperous country in the world.
These accomplishments were conceived and produced with the goal of creating a better society for future generations. If you read newspapers and literature from this period, their was an overarching theme--make America great. At some point in the latter half of the 20th century, we suddenly turned our interests inward. Rather than wanting to create a great society, we obsessed with hoarding every penny we could get our hands on. We stopped creating world class universities, we stopped creating highways, we stopped investing in anything that would benefit anyone but ourselves--regardless of the effect on society as a whole and future generations.
There is a Greek saying that essentially states that a society becomes great when it plants trees that will only provide shade for future generations. Today we refuse to plant trees for anyone but ourselves. We cannot sustain this self-indulgence. Its not what this country was built on. Its not what made it great.
To summarize: Serfs up!
look at the blowhards on this board...
trying to brag...
about the fictitious minimum wage jobs they have...
hee hee hee...
frickin clowns...
listen up clowns...
take your jobs and your bloated egos...
and shove them...
they are worthless...
got that clowns...
the world is better off without your jobs...
because you see clowns...
your pathetic jobs create a slippery slope...
which lead to $7.25 jobs...
then $6.25 jobs...
then $5.25 jobs...
and so on and so on...
run along little clowns...
try to boost your tiny egos elsewhere!!!
hey lawdog...
BRAVO!!!
Let's repeal Sandoval and every public servant who is paid with our tax dollars should they support this. Wanna see what recently happened in Egypt happen in Carson City?
"Thompson (Nevada AFL-CIO) said the amendment would 'be a slap in the face' of the people who overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment on minimum wage."
Exactly.
Why is it that the Republican Party takes all the ills of society out on the people who cash checks and spend them?
And not the people who issue them?
We need to fight them.
All of them.
The filthy rich and the corporations only comprise two percent of the population.
The middle class and below are 98 percent.
We outnumber them.
Time to make them feel our muscle at the next elections.
We are compelled to slap them senseless and vote them all out.
The Republican Party's war on wage earners continues. And they will continue the war. Until we stop them.
Time to wake up a sleeping giant.
colin,
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men -- the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share"? They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"
"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
Minimum wage is for high school students working a p/t job. You don't need a college degree to make good money. Be smart. I started in the mail room, graduated to the security force, then on to a professional job that pays very well (non gaming). There is absolutely nothing wrong with $7.25 or $9.00/hr being the minimum wage. I think we ALL have been there making less than a living wage. If not, then you have no business replying to this article.
The problem Brian is that your high paying job is disappearing...exported to everywhere and anywhere but here. You have yours. There are many just like you who lost theirs thru no fault of their own. Unemployment is not 9% plus because people don't want to work. People are no longer being offered health insurance. No longer being offered pensions, 401ks. Like you, I consider myself hardworking but I also think I'm one of the lucky ones. Friends just like me have lost their jobs. Not because they are not as good as me. It was just the luck of the draw. Their careers got sent overseas, mine stayed here. Now you see lines of people, old and young, experienced and not lining up for minimal paying jobs.
WE NEED MORE LABOR UNIONS TO PROTECT WORKERS
FROM GREEDY, HEARTLESS REPUBLICANS.
Greedy republicans destroyed our economy,
PERIOD.
c_bess. That is difference between me and you. I want rich to get richer, and the poor to get richer. I want to help those in need, but my version of help is giving a job.
Some people are not worth min wage, but they are worth something. I will continue to not hire those that are not worth minimum wage, and hire those that are. That is sad you wish ill will toward those that work hard and risk a lot, it is also sad you wish to hold back the unskilled by preventing them from getting work of any kind.
And your right, karma is a B. I will always have mine, I work hard, always will. You sound lazy and entitled maybe karma is chewing on you a little bit because I owe you nothing.
Rules to live by: Work hard all day every day and have the right to success Don't work hard, you have the right to live under a bridge.
The "you want them to have no job at all" line of bs is almost as lame as the "ten guys go to bar" malarkey. Because once you accept that concept you can always (and definitely will)justify further reductions and depravity to workers.
Slave labor???
Sure, we only give them a dollar a day, but they wouldn't even have that if we weren't so kind! And you mean liberals want to take away someone's dollar! In fact if I could get away with paying fifty cents a day I could hire another person... why do you want to stop that guy from having a job too?
Let me see...$16,500 a year...I wonder why our economy is crashing and families falling apart. Let's raise a family and provide for them...What are these people thinking...Oh, more profit.
No more pension, no healthcare, no minimum wage, no right to bargain, no social security, no decent schools-- but really, I want the poor to get richer too... And did the hear the one about the ten guys who go to a bar? It explains why our rich people are running out of money...
tbvegas......
There's only one rule to live by,
The Golden Rule.
LIVE BETTER, WORK UNION.
Tom, I agree 100% with your post. I am lucky to be employed and I also have friends who are now unemployed. Very few are willing to "line up" for minimal paying jobs. And NONE would line up for a minimum wage job. If you know people who would...let me know and I can forward you a list of plenty of employer's hiring at that wage.
We can cut taxes for the rich, but we can't afford to pay minimum wage? The income disparity in this country is disgusting.
SunJon said it beautifully: "Those that have want to have it all".
I haven't been a minimum wager for 30 years, so this will not affect me personally. Most minimum wagers I know (other than teenagers still living at home) need every dime they bring home and already do without a lot. I can't imagine squeezing them any more. When gas goes up like it has the past few months, that's a big expense to the lower paid folks in proportion to income. I say leave it alone.
I do find it ironic that a union leader is the one lobbying against it, considering that the union employees are generally not minimum wage earners.
To those who scream that it's all "The Republicans" causing it all, I know a couple of wealthy businessmen who are Democrats who live the real good life and cry the blues when they have to give their store employees an extra nickel in their paycheck.
i vote for a government employee salary cap .
Brian. They might have to. The higher paying jobs are disappearing..daily.
To the guy who has a business but can't afford to hire someone at 8.25 but can hire at 7.25. Crying out loud, take the extra buck an hour from loose change on your dresser and hire the guy. I've seen penny pinchers before. You're top dog.
So put it before the voters so they can vote your asinine idea down and be done with it.
lets see, $8.25 an hour = 16,830 per yr. the poverty level for the contiguous united states for a family of 4 in 2011 is 18,310.
now if that family of 4 want health care, in 2010 that averaged 18,074.
now if both adults have a minimum wage job that leaves them less than 15k a yr BEFORE TAXES to live on. if they only pay 15% in taxes they have about 1,000 per month for rent/mortgage, food, clothing, utilities & gas. it cost me $40 a week to fill my tank. if they share 1 car thats $160 less per month & god forbid if they pay for auto insurance.
get real people. not everybody can afford higher education & many cant manage to graduate high school. some, through no fault of their own. this does not mean they cant be good workers AND neighbors AND friends. they cant afford to gamble in your casinos or even eat at your restaurants but they deserve the same respect as our CEOs & politcians.
(not to be sexist) but a man is a man. treat him as such. treat him with respect and society as a whole will be a better place.
i am not a religious person (nor a democrat, nor a rebulican) but on some level am i not (all of us) my brother's keeper.
Okay all you economic professors commenting here. Why not just make the minimun wage $25 per hour so the minimum wage workers won't be so poor?
One question:
If the minimum wage is reduced by $1.00,will the fast food joints reduce the price of a burger by a comparable amount ?
I don't think so...
mbags;
There are not taxes to be paid on a family of four that makes less than $52,000.
We do not have any minimum wage workers here but we do have a bunch that make $12 per hour to start and I think the point a lot of you are missing is: I, as a business owner, do not have to hire anyone.
When I hire someone, I risk my family's money because I have to pay them EVERY payday, regardless of what those last two weeks held for me. This is an INVESTMENT and a risky one. It takes money from my family to your family. And I expect you to make me more money than I pay you (think about that as it is the most important point here). If you cannot provide me with more value than your pay and benefits (and the taxes I pay on your pay) why would I hire you.
The problem with the future of america is that very few unskilled people can provide employer's with this value proposition. I am not to blame for that, THEY are. Get off your lazy butts and acquire a skill that people will pay for or be willing to hustle and work you butt off to make me money (and I will pay you). Else, go start your own business and do all these grandiose things you think others should do.
The one thing you all seem to forget is, spending a lifetime working my butt off (and becoming "rich") gives us options. When I no longer like the system that the government creates, I have a choice (close my business and invest my money). What choice has a lazy person that can only command minimum wage left himself? He made choices in life that left him so useless that no one values his contribution more than $8 per hour. Deal with choices or get off your butt and change yourself.
Why do I suspect that the those that think a government rule requiring an extra dollar per hour worked or $2000 annually paid by an employer in additional wages for each employee is no big deal, are the same people outraged at how the firefighters manipulate their work rules to increase their wages?
ScottNV;
I think most people are outraged about someone making $200k a year from city and county money by stealing. And the theft is a lot more than $200k per year since they are using the fraud to get 40 years worth of pension escalated to $150k per year. Pretty large pension wouldn't you say.
Like I said though, people can opt out. Appeal your property taxes and in the cities that do not change this gross abuse of payments, MOVE. It will be hard to pay these people when there is no revenue coming in.....
Wow....when will the greedy people ever stop trying to take from the people on the lower end of the financial scale.
All I read here is excuses and complaining. Get off your ass and make something of yourself.
School is free if you are poor, just look into financial aid such as FAFSA.
Minimum wage isn't and should never be regarded as a living wage. Who can really live off of $8.25? Only the foolish would try. The idea is to get your foot in the door, to show your employer your value so that you can rise thru the ranks and steadily earn more money per hour. It's not rocket science; it's actually hard work.
Jobs are being shipped overseas because countries are decreasing their corporate tax, making the prospect of moving more alluring. If this country and it's uneducated voting citizens wanted to bring jobs of all kinds back, they would vote in people who are in favor of reducing corporate taxes. This would make operating in the USA more inviting.
@Samjung - I never attended college and didn't care for high school all that much either. Both are a waste of time imo. I have no problem focusing on learning a specific subject or job and then be able to outperform 90% of those with the same skill set. As other similiar businesses close and fail, I continue to pick up more business and make more profit. While in the process, I'm able to lower my prices on nearly everything I sell, making me competitive in my niche market. That is how I will continue to grow and expand.
Some advice;
It's not what you know, it's who you know
and,
Take control of your life and your financial future
Why does this all sound like a Charles Dickens novel?
While the super-rich gain an ever-increasing share of the national wealth, some legislators concentrate on attacking the middle class and poor people.
Unless this country wakes up, we are doomed.
The state doesn't need people like Danny Thompson AFL-CIO representive to tell the people of Nevada that the bill to repeal the minimum wage is a bad idea. The AFL-CIO is trying to sway tax payers to support a bill on Capitol Hill that would use tax payers money to guarantee the pensions of unions across America. Mr. Thompson need to straighten out unions and explain why union pensions are under funded. Repealing the minimum wage will do none of what the bill is stating. It will not create more jobs, but hurt those already making minimum wage. It make no sense to try and help one group, like the unemployed, and take away from another group to burden the load. Nevada cannot artificially try to create jobs, jobs must come from companies coming to Nevada and doing business. YOu change minimum wage now, it will only changed federally in the near future. Do not penalize one group for the sake of another. Businesses will not hire more people just because the minimum wage is lower, they will see it more as an opportunity to just save money. The politcians in Carson City need to come up with real solutions, just like two year ago when they raised taxes without making the neccessary cuts, it did nothing to improve the budget woes and actually made things worst. If you raise taxes, you must make cuts to the budget but you must raise taxes that will do the trick. I still say Nevada should strive to be the number one energy producing state in the union. Nevada has unlimited solar, wind, geo thermo, and hyro all renewable sources to produce electricity which will on go up in demand, this will create jobs and bring in needed revenue for the state. As for as Mr. Yackira, NV Energy, CEO, your right he is making too much for what he does, no one is worth $4.5 million, I do the job for $25,000 if it meant saving money for the utility and its users.
If the legislature lowered the minimum wage to two cups of rice and cup of beans a day we could compete with China and Mexico and make Nevada the prototype for America's response to 3rd world competition in the market place. This would allow the rich even more flexibility in the quest to "own" the world. I doubt they really care which flag flys over thier businesses because in there minds..its all about the money.
You know who is really greedy in this situation? It's not the employers who want the minimum wage to go down. It's the minimum wage employees who are trying to stop this. You guys are so greedy that you won't even give up $1.00, even if it means your employer can only hire 1 person instead of 2. Even if it means the company goes out of business because labor costs are too high. You are entitled to that extra $1/hour and will get it at any expense, that's true greed.
Why are people trying to live off minimum wage? Are you kidding? Minimum wage is the MINIMUM, it's for people starting out. You are not supposed to live off or raise a family off of it. If you are, best of luck to you but I hope you someday realize that by trying to squeeze that last dollar out of your employer you might cost your neighbor his job in the process.
I'm conservative, but this Is ridiculous. It's only to pad their own pockets with extra cash. If a business can not survive off paying a minimum wage of 8.25, other than tipping positions. They shouldn't be in business. I would feel guilty of paying someone less than that. Think of quality of life the employee would have. I'm not against people making a lot of money. However, if I'm making over a million a year clear, I wouldn't cut my employees pay, so I can make 1.1 Million. I would rather my employees be able to live a decent life. Not that 8.25 is much anyways, but to make it lower? No way, that's not being a good person.
Getting more like China everyday America... Good job.
If you can't afford to pay someone $8/hr without health benefits you shouldn't be hiring anyone.
This state is a joke... Move your families out NOW.
Why are people trying to live off minimum wage? Are you kidding? Minimum wage is the MINIMUM, it's for people starting out. You are not supposed to live off or raise a family off of it. If you are, best of luck to you but I hope you someday realize that by trying to squeeze that last dollar out of your employer you might cost your neighbor his job in the process.
*****
thepalms999
WHY ARE PEOPLE TRYING TO LIVE OFF MINIMUM WAGE???? This post of your's isn't serious, is it??? Sure there are people that will not take a minimum wage job right now because collecting unemployment pays more. BUT....ask those whose unemployment has run out after agressively looking for work the last 2 years and you'll get a totally different perspective on those taking a minimum wage job. It's either that min. wage job or nothing. People, educated people and not those starting out, are working minimum wage jobs because they can't find anything else, especially those over a certain age. Some are working TWO, possible THREE, minimum, wage jobs. It ain't fun but bills have to be paid, families need to eat, gas has to be put in the car.
For someone who owns their own business and IS an employER, you sure are stupid!
8.25 17,160 (Yearly Salary)
7.25 15,080 (Yearly Salary)
2,080 difference = 1 employee
34320 8.25 * 2
30160 7.25 * 2
4,160 difference = 2 employee
51,480 8.25 * 3
45,240 7.25 * 3
6,000 difference = 3 employee
68,640 8.25 * 4
60,320 7.25 * 4
8,320 difference = 4 employee
85800 8.25 * 5
75400 7.25 * 5
10,400 difference = 5 employee
102,960 8.25 * 6
90,480 7.25 * 6
12,480 difference = 6 employee
120,120 8.25 * 7
105,560 7.25 * 7
14,560 difference = 7 employee
Its takes over 100k in employee salary and 7 employees before you could hire 1 employee @ 7.25 for "free" with a $1 deduction in min. wage... It should be noted that it would actually take 8 employees due to the 7th employee not meeting the min. wage @ 7.25 entirely.
Also companies who hire military get a 3k tax deduction!
Your company can't be that small if you are spending over 100k in employee salary and as well last I checked all these large corporations are bragging about their record profits.
Teens who need jobs would be unaffected by this because not many jobs hire 8 teens regardless of wage. As well this city doesn't have many jobs teens can work because most work is done in casinos that require 18+ and over.
Math may be off but it's close enough.
Can we introduce a bill to raise the min. wage to 10/hr at the same time and let the people vote on it? Also can we introduce a bill to lower all government employees to 7.25/hr and let people vote on it? I think that would be fantastic!
@thepalms999 is some idiot who is still in college, studying business at some joke university. He doesn't sound like he actually owns a business.
Palms, In these days (and those in the past) most people start out at or near minimum and work their way up. That's what I did. However, there are some out there who are "not college material" for whatever reason. You seem to think that all lower paid folks are a bunch of unskilled (your words) idiots. Well, many of them are working those minimum pay jobs and somehow making ends meet, instead of living off of the system, which might actually "pay" more. I've seen minimum wagers who are idiots (I've also seen millionaires who are idiots), it's not an "exclusive" club. But to assume that they are all idiots is foolish. They start out low so the employer can TEACH them some of the skills. Maybe one gets hired to sweep the floors or stock shelves, and works up tho cashier which pays a buck more an hour, or even Assistant Manager (if they are truly dedicated, many are) which again pays more. That clerk at the Texaco or the girl at the Taco Bell, may be making at or near minimum, but they are working, many are learning, and you can always tell the ones who will eventually move on to a better position by the attitude they have. If everyone was "educated" (college) we would still need those folks in those jobs. I'd rather they make their $8.25 an hour, working hard to get that 50c raise, than living off of some government welfare program that we all pay for and complain about.
One thing I've learned over the years, just because someone makes less than me, or has less "education" than me, or works a "lesser" job than me, doesn't mean they shouldn't get the same respect from me that I expect from them.
Also, a lot of those out there earning minimum ARE college graduates, or folks who once had "good" jobs, lost to the recession. We all know some of them. They are taking what's available until they can get work in the field they are trained for. I give them credit for WORKING!
I once worked for an employer who nickeled and dimed his minimum wage employees (me, at the time) to death, talked down to them, complained if they had to pay them for an extra hour's work because they were asked (told) to work that hour at the last minute, never paid any bonus (Even a lousy $50 at the end of the year for a loyal employee will show them you care), while he bought new vehicles several times a year, lived in a very nice place, took expensive vacations, etc. I found a better job. Years later, I ran into him at the dealership where I was buying a fairly expensive (to me) car, he commented that was a "pretty nice car, how can you afford that"? I said "I don't work fot YOU anymore!"
Now I want the businessman to be able to buy the new cars and live the good life (they tend to be the ones able to make payroll), but if they do so without ever rewarding the employees who keep the cash drawer full, the employees will not be as loyal as they might if shown some respect.
Let's take away all pay and benefits from the Governor.
Bakers did you just copy and paste that from somewhere else? It states that I said things that I don't think anyone on here has and isn't all that relevant.
C_Bess, really $1/hour? Do you not understand that employees have a choice? It's a free market system. People have a value they place on their time and energy. If they are not getting paid enough to do a job they will refuse to do it. If the minimum wage is lowered to $1/hour do you think everyone currently earning min wage will be paid $1/hour? Conversely, if the minimum wage is raised, do you think employers are going to just ignore the fact that some of their employees now cost more than they bring in?
If someone wants to work for $7.25/hour and that is what I can afford to pay them, then why shouldn't we be able to work together? Who is better off when I can't hire a willing employee because the law says I have to pay him more than he will make me? Business is for-profit, not for-employees. My goal is to make money, not provide jobs. An extra $1 hour doesn't seem like much, but when you multiply it across the hundreds of additional workers and thousands of hours that could be added it adds up to a lot of money. For businesses like mine that operate on thin margins at very large quantities, being forced to pay even a slight increase in labor costs means people will lose their jobs. Sure my employees weren't getting rich off $7.25/hr, but any of them will tell you that they would gladly continue working for that then go back to the alternative- no job at all.
I to wonder how many AFL-CIO memeber are working for min wage. Let us CAP that wage first. 8.25 an hour is about $22,305 a yr with 8 hours overtime, a 48 hr workweek. It is $17,160 40 hr week. I do think $8.25 in about is about as low as it gets, I pay a guy $11 an hour to sweep the floor though only a few hours a week. If someone wants to stick with a min wage job that is his/her decision, and many are happy with that decison for many reasons. These people are free to work where ever they want for a higher wage if they so choose. This is America, land of oportunity!
thesurf
Perfect example, you make the case - for every 7 employees you could get an 8th if minimumn wage were 7.25
The difference is about 15%. almost exactly what unemployment is. If it were a realistic 7.25 about 15% could get a job.
This country is a wreck due to the level of stupidity contained within it.
The Democrats started class warfare some 50 years ago and this is what it has led to. The people who take the risk to start a business, manage a business and promote that business are some how the enemy of the people they pay. Do you get that? Does anyone really get that? That's called biting the hand that feeds you, and if you do it long enough, you will no longer be fed. *Instead of hating them, work to become them.
When there was no minimum wage in this country, a greater percentage of people had bank accounts and owned property; real signs of wealth (and lack of poverty). As soon as a minimum wage was installed, along with social programs such as welfare, people began to become lazy; becoming dependant upon the hard-working majority of Americans.
Which party led this "change"? It was the Democrats, as they saw it as a tool for control. If a person is not dependant upon you for food, shelter and clothing, you cannot dictate to them where they will live, what they will eat and what they'll learn.
@cbess - paying someone $36k/year doesn't mean s/he will be a stand-out employee. Stop living in La La land and step into the real world; where actions speak volumes and words fall on deaf ears.
palms, I did not copy and paste, maybe that one part of my comment shold have been directed to tbvegas or another.. All of my comment was in responsr to comments on THIS page, or to the article. I just believe that there is no reason to cut the pay of those already barely getting by. I haven't been a minimum wager for decades, but I do respect thosw who work and do a good job, regardless of wage. If one's business cannot survive over a dollar an hour wages, maybe the business is not viable, maybe you are spending too much on your own lavish lifestyle (that's a question, not a statement, since I know nothing about your lifestyle or spending habits). Nothing wrong with lavish lifestyle, just don't then plead poverty when it comes to paying your employees.
I'm a Republican, but I also believe in paying people a decent wage, and minimum is not a decent wage already, and some want to cut it?
get rid of it and let the FREE MARKET decide what a person is worth.
if they got rid of the minimum wage there would be more jobs than anyone could ever imagine. within a few years the cream would rise to the top.
C bess writes: " I don't do business with people who pay minimum wage even. If I don't think the employees make a living wage - I go somewhere else."
Yeah sure bessie.
I'm gonna call BS on this, just like most of the liberal drivel you post.
liar, liar pants on fire.