From the Green Independent Party:
If we want to fix the lagging economy, raising the minimum wage would be a surefire way to stimulate it.
If the federal minimum wage had simply tracked the rate of U.S. productivity gains since 1968, it would now be $21.72 an hour — three times the current minimum wage.
Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would inject about $450 billion into the economy each year.
Money in the pockets of the working class goes directly back into the economy as essential items are purchased.
While costs of living have gone up, wages have remained stagnant, leading to an overall decline in the economy, creating a downward spiral for working people.
Yet American workers are the most productive they have ever been, meaning that this increase in surplus value created by working people, is going to CEOs and Bankers, who are doing the best that they have done in decades.
We the undersigned demand that the Maine State Government pass a bill raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, in solidarity with the countless low-income workers struggling to make ends meet;
And we pledge to only vote for candidates who publicly pledge to raise the minimum wage to a living wage of $15/hr.
Click here to sign the petition.
I’m not really keen on using government stats. But the US DOL has done an excellent job of rebutting the arguments against a higher minimum wage.
http://www.dol.gov/minwage/mythbuster.htm
If you are going to go as high as $50 an hour, why not just go all the way and have the enterprise completely owned by the workers and let them run it as a coop?
In capitalism the advantage to raising the minimum wage is that it directly distributes the wealth generated instead of the social conflict and added expense of redistribution via taxation.
I can see it now.
That would make a great sign for a counter demonstration against socialist insanity.
$15.00 per hour is only $31,200 per year assuming no PTO. How does that end poverty? Get with the program people!!! The living wage is at least $25.00 per hour. What are you? Heartless tools of the establishment?