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| OTHER CONCERNS: |
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| WHY NO EXEMPTIONS? |
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All workers deserve a minimum wage. If we
make exemptions how do we decide:
1) who gets the exemption
2) how much they should be paid...what is a sufficient sub minimum
wage? |
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| SOME CATEGORIES THAT PEOPLE WANT EXEMPTIONS
FOR |
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• Welfare-to-work programs
- what is the purpose of welfare to work programs? One of welfare
reform's primary objectives was to encourage work. How do poverty-level
wages encourage work? Under TANF single mothers are required to work.
How can we justify paying wages that leave children in poverty? The
fact that they are welfare-to-work should provide even more reason
to pay higher wages.
• Job training
- again, what is the purpose of job training programs? Often times
you are trying to create labor force attachment for groups with little
commitment to the labor force. To do this, it is important to illustrate
that work actually pays.
• Summer jobs for
high school students - There are plenty of high school students
whose families depend on their income to help support the family.
Would we have a means test? Would they have to sign an affidavit?
("I swear I will buy food and not CDs.") This is less of
a problem in San Francisco since we have a far smaller number of people
under 18Šso fewer teenage workers in general.
•
Family-owned neighborhood serving business - increased
minimum wage will help local economy as low-wage earners spend in
SF. Low-wage earners more likely to spend rather than save their money,
giving an immediate boost to the economy. |
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| BACKGROUND |
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Market interventions are sometimes necessary.
Part of FLSA of 1938 (that also dealt with overtime and child labor)
guaranteed minimum wage floor-purpose to ensure that income won't
fall below minimum wage.
If we relied on the market to regulate everything we would still have
child labor and would pay people as little as we could get away with.
Democratic decision based on values is better than a market decision
that only considers profit motive.
Current Minimum wage has problems:
• $5.15 per hour
federal, $6.75 in California (a 2000 hour work year = $10,300 or $13,500)
• doesn't account for regional costs of living
• below poverty level (family of four poverty level is $18,400-that's
$8.85 per hour) |
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