Minimum Wage Increase

 Washington DC's city council has approved raising the hourly minimum wage in the US capital from the current $8.25 to $11.50 in 2016. The D.C. Council has given preliminary approval to an increase in the District of Columbia's minimum wage to $11.50 an hour.

Raising the minimum wage would help the working poor and give the entire economy a boost if the minimum wage rose to $10.10 per hour. States and municipalities across the country are leading a localized push to raise the minimum wage, driven largely by Democrats.

Officials are optimistic a minimum wage increase in Prince George's County won't scare away businesses. On many economic issues, Americans are deeply divided. But when it comes to giving pay raises to minimum wage workers, voters overwhelmingly say: Do it.

There is a rising tide of sentiment in favor of raising the minimum wage in the U.S. The Democrats have proposed a minimum wage hike to $10.10 per hour, more than a dollar more than the original proposal, and President Obama is behind them.

Americans overwhelmingly favor raising the federal minimum wage, suggesting the issue could be one that gives Democrats some momentum heading into the 2014. In the United States workers are generally entitled to be paid no less than the statutory minimum wage.

$15 Minimum Wage Raise For Seattle Wa

Seattle City Council‘s vote today on a historic plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour could change her life. Phelps, 22, earns $9.47 per hour working for a McDonald’s restaurant near downtown. She wants to move out of her mother’s South Seattle home, and she wants to go back to school. She says those things could happen if Council approves the nation’s highest minimum wage.

Not everyone jumped on board. Craig Dawson, CEO of Retail Lockbox in Seattle, was among those suggesting early on that small and minority businesses would be put at risk by the increase in personnel costs. Compromises were put forward, and a rancorous Council committee meeting last week resulted in some adjustments to the plan that appeared to pave the way for easy passage.

Washington already has the highest state minimum wage at $9.32 an hour, well above the federal minimum of $7.25. The Seattle compromise plan would phase in the higher, local minimum wage over three to seven years, depending on the size of the business and benefits they provide employees.

City officials estimate that about a quarter of workers earn less than $15 an hour. Full-time work at that rate translates to about $31,000 a year. The ordinance was drafted by an advisory group of labor, business and non-profit professionals. In a contentious meeting last week, a City Council committee agreed to delay implementation of the ordinance to next April instead of Jan. 1. They rejected amendments that would have sped up phase-ins and would have excluded tips from total compensation. The committee also approved a sub-minimum wage for teenagers.

Raising Minimum Wages Hurts The Small Business Owners

The Presidential Debate has started between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and we will be posting as it is going. They kicked it off talking about growing the economy. Hillary said raise minimum wage and Donald said bring jobs back from overseas. We agree with both sides, and here is why.

Jay-Z To Reopen 40/40 Club In NYC

Jay Z is bringing 100 new jobs to the New York City area. The rapper and business man is reopening his 40/40 Club in Madison Square in August, and is looking to fill 100 positions.

Rapper Freeway Endorses Hillary Clinton for President

Freeway endorsed Hillary Clinton for president at a rally in a West Philadelphia High School this week. The rapper said he supports Clinton because she is for affordable health care as a right. Freeway suffers from kidney failure and needs to undergo dialysis three times a day, four times a week, according to PhillyMag. The care was $600 per month before he received insurance. He is currently awaiting a kidney transplant. “When I came out with my story on being on dialysis, I ran across many people that were going through the same thing that I’m going through,” he said. “Through the grace of God, I was able to be successful and able to afford my health care. But a lot of people can’t afford it. Even with my healthcare, my treatments are a little bit expensive.”

Freeway said he became a Hillary supporter after attending the DNC. He initially supported Senator Bernie Sanders. “Hillary did a lot of work helping children. She did a lot of work with different communities. She definitely for raising the minimum wage. It was so many people speaking so good about her, so many things that I didn’t know that influenced me [to switch],” he said. He also believes Bernie or bust people need to “be in the room” to still make a change and that they will not help anyone by sitting out this election.