MINIMUM WAGE FACT$ & FIGURE$

BYLaurie Cole, Skylar Hannah and

Rainee Selby

Past Federal Value of the Minimum Wage

Year Current Constant Dollars 1996 Dollars1955 $0.75 $4.39 1960 $1.00 $5.30 1965 $1.25 $6.23 1970 $1.60 $6.47 1975 $2.10 $6.12 1980 $3.10 $5.90 1985 $3.35 $4.88 1990 $3.80 $4.56 1995 $4.25 $4.38 2000 $5.15 $4.69 2005 $5.15 $4.14 2010 $7.25 $5.22 2013 $7.25 $4.87

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774473.html#ixzz2vQtnjadT

Milk Price$

Series Id:  APU0000709112Area:       U.S. city averageItem:       Milk, fresh, whole, fortified, per gal. (3.8 lit)

http://www.bls.gov

Bread Price$Series Id:  APU0000702111

Area:       U.S. city average Item:       Bread, white, pan, per lb. (453.6 gm)

http://www.bls.gov

Egg Price$

Series Id:  APU0000708111Area:       U.S. city averageItem:       Eggs, grade A, large, per doz.

http://www.bls.gov

Ga$ Price$

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx

History of Washington State Minimum Wage

Effective date Minimum Hourly Wage January 1, 2014 $9.32January 1, 2013 $9.19January 1, 2012 $9.04January 1, 2011 $8.67January 1, 2010 $8.55January 1, 2009 $8.55January 1, 2008 $8.07January 1, 2007 $7.93January 1, 2006 $7.63January 1, 2005 $7.35January 1, 2004 $7.16January 1, 2003 $7.01January 1, 2002 $6.90January 1, 2001 $6.72January 1, 2000 $6.50January 1, 1999 $5.70September 1, 1997 $5.15 (Federal minimum wage change)January 1, 1994 $4.90January 1, 1990 $4.25January 1, 1989 $3.85January 1, 1976 $2.30September 1, 1975 $2.00January 1, 1974 $1.80

http://lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/Minimum/History/

Cost of a Bundle of Goods

• Average 1982-84 = 100.

http://www.measuringworth.com/uscpi/

Year U.S. Consumer Price Index *

1960 29.621965 31.561970 38.841975 53.841980 82.381985 107.601990 130.701995 152.402005 195.302010 218.062013 232.96

Let’s do the Math

This means that a bundle of goods in 1980 that cost $82.38 took a minimum wage worker 36 hours to earn this amount.

In 2013 that same bundle of goods cost $232.96 and took a minimum wage worker 25.5 hours to earn this amount.

Washington StateMinimum wage in 1980 was $2.30Minimum wage in 2013 was $9.19

Note: Federal minimum in 1980 was $3.10. I could not find an explanation for this variance

States using Federal Minimum WageFederal Minimum Wage in 1980 was $3.10Federal Minimum Wage in 2013 was $7.25

This means that a bundle of goods in 1980 that cost $82.38 took a minimum wage worker 26.6 hours to earn this amount.

In 2013 that same bundle of goods cost $232.96 and took a minimum wage worker 32 hours to earn this amount.

How much money would it take today to buy what you could for $1.00 in 1950, 1960,

1970, 1980…www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm

For more fun facts and history about the Federal minimum wage

www.raisetheminimumwage.com

Interesting Web Sites

Current Minimum Wage

Current Federal Wage $7.25 (Suggested!)

States with NO Minimum Wage LawTennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,

and South Carolina

Lowest Minimum Wage LawGeorgia and Wyoming $5.15/hour

Highest Minimum Wage Law Washington State at $9.32 an hour

Different Ways it Can Go

• $9.00 Federal Minimum Wage• $10.00 Federal Minimum Wage• $10.17 Federal Minimum Wage• $11.00 Federal Minimum Wage• $15.00 Federal Minimum Wage

Who Really Works Minimum Wage Jobs?

It is Expensive to be Poor

• Getting Around• A Place to Live• Medical Bills• Eating• Banking• Child Care• Scams/Fraud• Little Things

Paying Rent in America

Cutting Back on the Cost of Government Assistance

Programs

Increasing the minimum hourly wage to $10.10 would reduce food stamp expenditures by about 6 percent, or nearly $4.6 billion a year, according to a report this week from the Center for American Progress.

Who is Dependent on Welfare?

http://www.upworthy.com/if-you-think-only-poor-people-need-welfare-wait-till-you-see-what-really-rich-folks-do-with-it

Washington State the Success Story

• Washington residents voted in 1998 to raise the state’s minimum wage and linked it to the cost of living.

• Opponents warned the measure would be a job-killer. This prediction hasn’t been borne out.

• In the 15 years that followed, the state’s minimum wage climbed to $9.32 -- the highest in the country.

• Job growth continued at an average 0.8 percent annual pace.0.3 percentage point above the national rate.

• Payrolls at Washington’s restaurants and bars, portrayed as particularly vulnerable to higher wage costs, expanded by 21 percent.

The Fair Choice?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct8CGJy9eF8

What is the Future of a $15 Minimum Wage??

Japan & Europe: Could this Be Us?

• Customers order on a touch screen

• Robots make the food• Conveyer Belt delivers the

food• Computer tracks and

takes payment for customer purchases

• Able to cut out almost all help

With the robot chefs costing just $1,500, they're far cheaper than employees and don't demand raises or need any breaks.

Unskilled Workers Replaced?

If business owners have to pay someone double for the same amount and kind of work, they are going to find someone with better skills, reliability, and work ethic.

If this happens, many high school/college students with no work experience will not have an opportunity to work these entry level jobs. They will be out of work. My little brother with disabilities who works to gain experience in the community, will be one of them…. The pay he gets is just an added bonus.

Fast-Food Jobs: Only for Entry Level Employees?

• The average age of an hourly-paid employee at Mc. Donald's is 22. (Source McDonalds.com)

• Low-wage paying jobs are often an incentive for young people to get a better education, gain further work experience, and motivate themselves to seek better careers.

“There’s a high turnover rate in the fast food industry. That’s the nature of the business,” said Wendy’s spokesman Bob Bertini. “ We are proud to provide a place where thousands of people, who come to us asking for a job, can enter the workforce at a starting wage, gain skills and advance with us or move on to something else.”

• The best employees in the fast food industry, if they decide to make a career out of the business, don’t remain minimum wage employees. They work their way up to management. Or, they leave and advance to other jobs now that they have gained some entry level experience.

Making Minimum Wage and a College Education

If you're poor, your college education will most likely be free due to grants and financial aid. There are also student loans…Will people even want to go to college and continue their education? Currently, many people that have a college degree are having a hard time even finding employment as it is, yet alone a job making $15 an hour. Will people still want to get an education? If people can just get a job making a minimum of $15 with no education, and have no student loan debt, what would be the point? I don’t believe a 16 year old High School student should be able to make the same pay as a 24 year old college graduate who spent years working hard in school, and thousands and thousands of dollars on an education.

But wait… this won’t happen, because no one will want to hire a 16 year old inexperienced worker with no skills when they can pay someone else with skills the exact same amount!

Increased Prices, Small Businesses, and Layoffs

Many small businesses will go out of business because they will have to either increase the cost of their items, lay people off, not hire new employees, and/or bring in new technology to decrease the number of employees they need because they will not be able to afford to pay all of their staff with such an increase of wages.We want to support those small community "ma and pa" shops, but their items are already more expensive then the bigger chains. And, with a higher pay for their workers, the cost of their items will increase even higher.As Suzan Bartee said: “Soon, we will be paying $1.50 or more for an apple.”

Other Wages Increasing: Good or Bad?

Many managers are currently making $15/hr. If the minimum wage increases to $15/hr. The current workers making $15/hr. will want more pay… Not just them, EVERYONE will want more pay… and then what? More

pay seems great until the price for everything else increases drastically. Many people working construction jobs in the dirt all day/night don’t even make $15/hr. I guarantee they will quit those hard working jobs and work easier, less difficult jobs. Why wouldn't they? The pay would be the same…

Our Different Views

Everyone has opinions and views regarding minimum wage. It is important to know our history and the true impacts of raising the minimum wage.

We are now going to take the time to tell you where each of us stand on the topic of minimum wage!

Rainee’s Take on Minimum Wage

• I don’t think that minimum wage is enough to support a family on… but I don’t think minimum wage jobs are meant to.

• What happens when the minimum raise increases to $17 then $19 then $20, etc. etc?

• I do think that minimum wage should increase, just not as drastically as this… I don’t think people realize that it may end up causing more harm then good.

Laurie’s Point of View

• I believe there is a lot of fear mongering going on regarding the doom of small business.

• A tiered minimum wage would allow the 16 year old to work at $10 and hour, and those 18 and older supporting families $15 an hour.

• Or a skills based minimum wage: i.e. fast food workers $10 per hour; caregivers $15 per hour.

• Bottom line is too many families are trying to live on minimum wage and cannot without help.

Skylar’s Thoughts

Thank you for listening! Any questions?

Reference ListDemar, G. (2013, August 30). What Will Happen if Minimum Wage Goes to $15 per Hour. God Father Politics. Retrieved from: http://godfatherpolitics.com/12360/will-happen-minimum-wage-goes-15-per-hour/#3VCti7vtDBJC8eix.99

Evolve Media (2014) Who really is using welfare? Retrieved from: http://www.upworthy.com/if-you-think-only-poor-people-need-welfare-wait-till-you-see-what-really-rich-folks-do-with-it

GasBuddy Organization, LLC (2014). Historical price charts. Retrieved from: http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx

National Low Income Housing Coalition (2014) Minimum wage and affording rent. Retrieved from: http://www.upworthy.com/how-many-minimum-wage-hours-does-it-take-to-afford-a-two-bedroom-apartment-in-your-state

Officer, L. H. & Williamson, S.H. (2014). The Annual Consumer Price Index for the United States, 1774-2013. Retrieved from: http://www.measuringworth.com/uscpi

Pearson Education. (2014). Federal Minimum Wage Rates, 1955–2013. Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774473.html#ixzz2vQtnjadT

R. Reich (2014) Top four arguments for minimum wage. Retrieved from: http://www.upworthy.com/here-are-the-top-4-arguments-for-and-against-raising-the-minimum-wage

United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014). U.S. city average food prices. Retrieved from: http://www.bls.gov

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) Who actually works minimum wage? Retrieved from: http://www.upworthy.com/the-reality-of-who-actually-works-for-minimum-wage-will-shock-you-5

V. Stilwell, P. Robison, and W. Selway. (2014) Highest minimum-wage Washington State beats U.S. in job creation. Retrieved from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-05/washington-shows-highest-minimum-wage-state-beats-u-s-with-jobs.html

Wang, D. (2014, March 6). Seattle Residents Testify For, Against $15 Minimum Wage At Packed Hearing. KUOW. Retrieved from: http://m.kuow.org/?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F#mobile/29938

Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. (2014). History of Washington minimum wage. Retrieved from: http://lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/Minimum/History

Westneat, D. (2014, February 22). A do-gooder tells why $15 wage is bad idea. The Seattle Times. Retrieved from: http://seattletimes.com/html/dannywestneat/2022973571_westneat23xml.html?utm_source=weeklyroundup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=030114