Letters from readers: the minimum-wage issue
An HBSDealer.com poll question concerning potential changes to minimum wage laws showed that -- at latest count -- 65% of respondents believe a higher minimum wage would help workers and the economy. Another 35% think that raising the minimum wage would fuel inflation and hurt job creation -- among other evils.
Here are two (edited) letters from readers on the topic:
“We run a single True Value store in Stoneham, Mass. We are within the Boston suburban sprawl just North of Boston. The median home price for a home in Stoneham is $529,000. In 2018, Melrose, the next town over from us, was rated among the top five hottest zip codes in the United States if not the universe.
“The Massachusetts minimum wage is slated to be at $15 by 2023.
“I think that all business will be severely impacted by the mandated minimum wage, but the mandated minimum wage is part of the story. The more damaging and less obvious increases to the cost of doing business are mandated benefits. In Massachusetts, we have the Family Leave Act (for 50 or more employees), we have 40 hours of mandated paid sick/personal days, the blue laws (now 1.4 times the normal hourly wage on Sundays and state holidays like Evacuation day), higher than normal workman's comp rates due to a very sympathetic judiciary, and a host of other laws that stack the deck in favor of employees. Then there is the issue of parity, the hidden, damaging wage escalation: When the minimum goes up, everybody else will look for a bump up as well ….
“I think the minimum wage issue has been driven by our union-controlled legislature here in the Commonwealth. Our legislators have little connection or understanding of the business world, and think mainly with their emotions.”
--Bill Round
Round's True Value Hardware
# # #
“Last minimum wage job I had was just over $3 per hour. I had to work two hours in order take home enough money to buy a movie ticket.
My son works for $7.50 per hour. He has to work two hours to take home enough money to buy a movie ticket.”
“Nothing has changed.”
-- Brian Ferguson
The poll remains open on the right side of the page. Send us your thoughts to [email protected].
Here are two (edited) letters from readers on the topic:
“We run a single True Value store in Stoneham, Mass. We are within the Boston suburban sprawl just North of Boston. The median home price for a home in Stoneham is $529,000. In 2018, Melrose, the next town over from us, was rated among the top five hottest zip codes in the United States if not the universe.
“The Massachusetts minimum wage is slated to be at $15 by 2023.
“I think that all business will be severely impacted by the mandated minimum wage, but the mandated minimum wage is part of the story. The more damaging and less obvious increases to the cost of doing business are mandated benefits. In Massachusetts, we have the Family Leave Act (for 50 or more employees), we have 40 hours of mandated paid sick/personal days, the blue laws (now 1.4 times the normal hourly wage on Sundays and state holidays like Evacuation day), higher than normal workman's comp rates due to a very sympathetic judiciary, and a host of other laws that stack the deck in favor of employees. Then there is the issue of parity, the hidden, damaging wage escalation: When the minimum goes up, everybody else will look for a bump up as well ….
“I think the minimum wage issue has been driven by our union-controlled legislature here in the Commonwealth. Our legislators have little connection or understanding of the business world, and think mainly with their emotions.”
--Bill Round
Round's True Value Hardware
# # #
“Last minimum wage job I had was just over $3 per hour. I had to work two hours in order take home enough money to buy a movie ticket.
My son works for $7.50 per hour. He has to work two hours to take home enough money to buy a movie ticket.”
“Nothing has changed.”
-- Brian Ferguson
The poll remains open on the right side of the page. Send us your thoughts to [email protected].