Official statement of the Eureka Fair Compensation Act
If adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage of 1995 would now be over $10.00 per hour. The people of Eureka have the right to set a higher standard and recognize the value of labor in our community, especially in the face of insufficient action by career politicians in Sacramento and Washington.
This minimum wage increase encourages more people to enter gainful employment, which reduces demands upon local social service agencies and saves taxpayer money. Raising the minimum wage will make small, local businesses more competitive with big box retailers.
Minimum wage earners shop local! Increasing their pay increases the prosperity of local businesses as well as sales tax revenue. Minimum wage earners spend nearly all of their income, making these dollars immediately circulate in the local economy, which means more successful businesses and more jobs for Eureka.
The Eureka Fair Compensation Act will mandate that our minimum wage workers share in a small way in the community's prosperity. This will encourage young families to stay in Eureka and stop the decline of our student population and schools.
People who work full-time should not live in poverty. This ordinance will ensure working families the dignity they have earned through their labor.
2 comments:
I wonder why I don't read about the advantage of a higher minimum wage for business owners. Keep in mind the increase is tiny and the excuse you hear is "We will Go Out Of Business." Frankly speaking, I don't know how one could stay in business, deliver quality goods and servives on a consistent basis and be anti wage increase. Having experiemnted myself with higher wages I find many benefits. Simply by keeping the turn over to a minimum - that more then off sets the steep increase of $1. I know $1 is really aprox $2 but how much is a classified ad in 2 sunday papers? Do that a few times a year and that $1 increase isn't bad. I just hate the "victim" role workers play. Workers make the world go around - thats how one must approach this.
Well, the point about "shopping local" speaks to the point of supporting local businesses. The study done on the impact of the living wage in San Francisco clearly showed a massive economic boost to the city, since the increased wages of these working poor were immediately and almost completely spent on products and services offered by Bay Area businesses. This boosted the sales tax revenues for these local governments as well, another hidden benefit of this measure.
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