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Originally Posted by CT_Yank

Do you do the tax filings too? There are several ways to get paid without collecting a "paycheck" per se including paying dividends and lowering your tax obligation.

If your claiming that he is struggling then no offense but it seems like you have bigger problems at this place than MW, like how much longer this guy will keep lights on. I do agree that collateral damages are to employees paid just above $15 with more responsibilties and skill set but like other said, we are adults and move on If not paid appropriately. I just don't think better paying jobs are in plethora right now in CT. That is major problem. Competing for talent drives up wages but it has been a decade since many businesses worried about that.

Yes I do. She doesn't collect anything. She took money out once last year to pay for a trip.

We aren't struggling. We are fine where we are currently at with our employees at their wages. At $15/hr that's an extra $40,000 or so we need to dish out a year. We aren't a big business at all, so that $40,000 justifys letting people go. They simply don't perform up to $15/hr standards. We would probably hire another person for $15/hr but we'd need them to perform exceptionally. We also only take in people with little to no experience. There's a ton of competition whenever we open for hiring because we previously started at $11/hr before minimum wage went up this year.

Better paying jobs are hard to come by in CT, especially at the entry level positions we have right now. Our turnover rate is mostly us letting people go, not them leaving for better jobs.

[BicoastalAnn]

Why would CT (or any city in it) need to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr? I can understand it in the most expensive cities in the US, like NYC and SF, because the cost of living is just much higher. A $75k salary in SF/Silicon Valley is like a $50k salary elsewhere - that's a right-out-of-school salary. So it does make sense to me that it might be the same at the bottom end of the wage spectrum. Though even in SF it's only $13/hr. $15 does seem pretty extravagant.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

Why would CT (or any city in it) need to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr? I can understand it in the most expensive cities in the US, like NYC and SF, because the cost of living is just much higher. A $75k salary in SF/Silicon Valley is like a $50k salary elsewhere - that's a right-out-of-school salary. So it does make sense to me that it might be the same at the bottom end of the wage spectrum. Though even in SF it's only $13/hr. $15 does seem pretty extravagant.

Oh, it's worse less than that for the Bay Area. It's like New York: Unless you've got a spouse or a roommate to provide a secondary income, getting by on anything under $100,000 is tough as it limits your options for what you can afford for rent. In cities like these, I'd be more supportive of raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

I'm all for raising the minimum wage, adjusted for inflation the minimum wage peaked in 1968 and it's been stagnant ever since, but not to $15 an hour in this state. If there's one segment of workers I'd support giving a raise to, it's tipped workers. Although Connecticut fares better than other states (like New Jersey, where it's been frozen at $2.13 an hour since 1991), the minimum wage for tipped workers is significantly less than $10.10 an hour. I'm not saying it shouldn't be, I understand the dynamics of one's income is different when an employee earns tips, but IMO this segment of employees is deserving of a raise. No, not to the standard minimum wage, not to $15 an hour, but an increase. Knowing how under-appreciated and often underpaid these people are (even after tips), I always tip 20% or above unless the service is really abysmal.

At the same time, I understand the hesitation around the MW, especially when it comes to small businesses. I have much more sympathy for the local bookstore owner or hardware store manager than say McDonald's. You want to be accommodating to businesses, particularly independent ones, while at the same time taking at least minimal steps to ensure the workers have at least minimal compensation for it. This is why (again JMHO) if there's going to be a raise in the minimum wage, it's better to do it moderately as opposed to huge spikes from $9 to $15 an hour where the costs are passed down to the consumer more than usual and you then create a much tougher business climate.

[Henry10]

MW is just another straw on the camel's back. Left's obsession with the iron-fist Govt dictating wages to private sector has grown over time.

Nothing is coincidental. It's just that -- there is no single factor. Left's assault on Capitalism is comprehensive -- MW, this dictate, that mandate, taxes, coercion, choking, re-distribution, demoralizing motivation to produce; and we wonder -- "Gee, why does CT's economy suck? I don't get it."

CT is part of the avangarde.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by Henry10

MW is just another straw on the camel's back. Left's obsession with the iron-fist Govt dictating wages to private sector has grown over time.

Nothing is coincidental. It's just that -- there is no single factor. Left's assault on Capitalism is comprehensive -- MW, this dictate, that mandate, taxes, coercion, choking, re-distribution, demoralizing motivation to produce; and we wonder -- "Gee, why does CT's economy suck? I don't get it."

CT is part of the avangarde.

Oh, please. Enough of this neoliberal nonsense. Give it up.

[hartford_renter]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

Oh, please. Enough of this neoliberal nonsense. Give it up.

I think he is arguing the conservative point

Your arguments on the other hand are in line with the liberals in CT

We should get rid of the minimum wage and get rid of 90% of the government while were at it

[Henry10]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

Oh, please. Enough of this neoliberal nonsense. Give it up.

Oh, ok.

[HumpDay]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

I think he is arguing the conservative point

Your arguments on the other hand are in line with the liberals in CT

We should get rid of the minimum wage and get rid of 90% of the government while were at it

Good. Let's do it. The government and the private sector should be split so the markets can do their thing without elitist involvement. The issue is that it's too late as the government is already too big.

[BicoastalAnn]

Moody's on Aetna merger block being good for CT (think everyone here knows this anyway): Aetna's Loss Could Be Hartford's Gain, Moody's Says

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

Moody's on Aetna merger block being good for CT (think everyone here knows this anyway): Aetna's Loss Could Be Hartford's Gain, Moody's Says

Yes, it s obvious that a lot of promises were made by Aetna at Hartfords expense. Seems like their CEO could care less about this state or his employees. Kind of insulting and like biting the hand the feeds you. Jay