Hello readers! We are just about to wrap up the first quarter of 2021 and as usual, there is a lot going on in the world. While we are all still in the grip of the coronavirus “twindemic,” we might be starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel as we inch closer to herd immunity. That is great news for the economy and people in the industries who lost their jobs as a result of the hot mess that was 2020.
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Getting people back to work depends in large part on getting this virus under control. In the meantime, Congress continues to work on yet a fourth round of stimulus legislation that was passed by the House of Representatives two days prior to this post. It’s a matter of time before it passes the Senate and goes to the White House for signature. That, of course, is big news. However, the bigger issue is the minimum wage increase that was initially in the bill and removed just before it was put to vote.
You may be asking why the wage increase was removed from the legislation. Well, it didn’t pass muster under the Byrd Rule. Basically, that means it wasn’t directly related to the federal budget so, it couldn’t be included in legislation that is being passed through the “short-cut” reconciliation process. Instead of needing 60 senate votes to pass, reconciliation bills only need a simple majority of 51 votes to pass.
So, what does that mean for the federal minimum wage increase? Well, it means it’s going to take a little more work before it becomes a reality. In the political climate we have today, I seriously doubt we are likely to see a law requiring a federal minimum wage increase any time soon.
You may be thinking “I guess that’s that.” I agree, it may be the end of the line for a federal minimum wage increase. However, many states already have minimum wage laws that are higher than the federal limit of $7.25. Of course, a handful of states have no minimum wage laws at all. Either way, states have the right to set their own minimum wage limit so there’s still a chance that a minimum wage increase could be coming to a state near you.
For the record, I do believe the minimum wage needs to be raised. Now, hear me out before you scroll on by. Wages haven’t kept pace with living expenses over the last seventy years and the wage gap is widening. A minimum wage increase would help lift folks out of poverty and give them spending power which would ultimatelybenefit the economy. Having said that, I do think it should be done in a way that doesn’t pull the rug out from under small businesses. The last thing we need to do is make things worse for small businesses than they already are.
Okay, that’s the skinny on the federal minimum wage increase, for now. Since no one from Washington is burning up the phone lines to ask my opinion on it, I think we can safely say that puts paid to that. No pun intended.
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