| Ed Lynch Wednesday, March 6, 2013 |
A day after the news that Northrop Grumman is going to be moving more than 800 jobs off of Long Island, comes the news that minimum wage is going to rise to $9 an hour. This news comes as the state Assembly voted Tuesday to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour with automatic increases tied to inflation, putting pressure on Senate’s Republicans who are seeking business tax cuts in a potential legislative deal.
The Assembly passed its version of the measure 101-44, led by the Democratic majority. But closed-door negotiations are under way involving Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomoand Senate majority leaders.
As a means of offsetting this wage hike, and hopefully secure jobs, Senate Republicans this week also proposed a series of tax breaks for employers that would total $2 billion in cuts in the state budget now being negotiated. In Albany, such related proposals are often the basis of a compromise deal.
The minimum wage is now $7.25 an hour, which is the federal minimum shared by 20 states, including neighboring New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Twelve states have a higher minimum wage than New York.
Among the proposals being floated by legislative leaders is raising the wage to $8.50, then $8.75, then $9 over two or three years.
Assemblyman Keith Wright, a Manhattan Democrat has said that raising the minimum wage will revitalize New York’s slow and uneven economic recovery. Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos of Long Island said his conference remains concerned that raising the minimum wage will force layoffs and hamper New York’s slow economic recovery. He said 83 percent of minimum wage workers are teenagers or adults earning a second income, not heads of households.
A rise in minimum wage is a good thing on the outside of it, but what ramifications could it have to small business owners who can not afford to pay that high of a wage, with increased health insurance costs?
Edwardl@longislandyellowpages.com Appears In: Jobs & Careers
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