As of July 24, 2009 the federal minimum wage is $7.25. The extensive period of time that has passed since minimum wage was last raised has caused an 8.1% loss of buying power due to inflation, making it insensibly low. On this salary, working full time an income of only $15,080 is produced. This is nearly $4,000 below the federal poverty line for a family of two and over 3.3 million workers are receiving this wage or lower, with an additional 17.3 million workers making $10.10 or less. The current rate is nowhere near enough to support oneself or a family. This forces individuals to rely on the support provided by government funded programs. These programs are costing $943 billion annually while not fixing the problem at hand, inevitably wasting …show more content…
Starting at $7.25, the minimum wage will increase by $0.95 at the beginning of each year. This will give businesses and employers that necessary time to plan for the additional expenses. Also, the minimum wage will be indexed, or adjusted automatically to keep up with inflation, every five years. Currently 15 states and the District of Columbia are indexing their minimum wage and this has proved to be effective for them. The custom of mandatory tipping will be abolished as it is in many countries, such as Australia and throughout Europe. Waiters will be able to provide for themselves with the new rate and therefore won’t need the tip. This will be managed by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL), as it is currently doing. Since less tax dollars will be going towards funding anti-poverty programs the saved money will be going to people’s wages. Also, there will be slight increases in the cost of goods or services, estimated to be around 1-4%. The consequences will remain the same as they currently are. As of now they have been valid but if they are ineffective once the bill is passed then there will be harder consequences put in