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7 Small Businesses Tell Us How Obama’s Call for An Increase in Minimum Wage Would Affect Them: ‘Bad, Bad, Bad’

Mar. 6, 2013 9:20am Becket Adams

President Barack Obama during his wholly original and exciting State of the Union address last month called for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage.

“We know our economy’s stronger when we reward an honest day’s work with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That’s wrong,” he said.

“That’s why, since the last time this Congress raised the minimum wage, 19 states have chosen to bump theirs even higher. Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty — and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.”

But what do small businesses have to say about the president’s proposal? We’re glad you asked. That’s what we’re here for.

Below is a collection of testimonials from small-business owners who’ve partnered with The Marketplace by TheBlaze, a unique online store featuring some of the best and finest small businesses in the nation.

Here’s what they had to say about the president’s suggestion:

Creative Learning Connection

TheBlaze Marketplace Business Owners Weigh in On the Presidents Call for an Increase in the Minimum Wage Rate

Owner: Catherine Jaime, Madison, Ala.

How does the proposed $9 minimum wage affect any hiring decisions you’re currently faced with?

At the moment my business is so small that I have no help besides family, but the idea of a higher minimum wage is very frightening for our future prospects! If minimum wage goes up, we would definitely delay our first hires.

Do you believe your business would benefit from the $9 proposed minimum wage or be adversely affected? Why?

There is no doubt we would be adversely affected by an increase minimum wage. When I start hiring, I will be in need of part time help that is fairly low skill — teenagers or stay-at-home moms wanting just a little extra money in their budget — that type of thing.

Higher minimum wage would add financial strain to our business.

Mrs. Cavanaugh’s Chocolates

Owner: Michael Wall, North Salt Lake, Utah

How would the proposed $9 minimum wage affect your business?

It would hurt our business greatly.

How does the proposed $9 minimum wage affect any hiring decisions you’re currently faced with?

We would not hire any new people and we may have to let some go and cut back.

Do you believe your business would benefit from the $9 proposed minimum wage or be adversely affected? Why?

We would be adversely affected. Government needs to get out of our way. Why don’t we pay congress minimum wage or no wage. Let them donate their time. By the time we pay all the taxes and jump through all their hoops to stay in business we have to practically work for nothing as owners.

Rinse Bath & Body

Owner: Heather Swanepoel, Atlanta, Ga.

How would the proposed $9 minimum wage affect your business?

Bad, bad, bad. Obviously our cost of labor would increase. We have not raised our prices in over 5 years even though the costs of our ingredients have increased. With a minimum wage increase along with the continued rise in ingredient & packaging costs we will need to seriously consider a price increase. We could also absorb the increase by letting go of one of our workers putting more demands upon those who are left.

How does the proposed $9 minimum wage affect any hiring decisions you’re currently faced with?

In the next 4 weeks we are opening up our first retail store & were looking to hire 2 people to help staff it. Now rather than the wage we could to afford (and proudly) offer for the positions, which would attract a better candidate base for the position, against minimum wage isn’t as enticing. Honestly, much of the entry level workforce out there isn’t worth $7.00/hour with the motivation & work ethic they hold. And now they are going to want us to pay them $9.00/hour?!?!

Do you believe your business would benefit from the $9 proposed minimum wage or be adversely affected? Why?

Adversely affected. Every supplier, vendor or business partner we have will be affected similarly… driving up prices for us… which will in turn drive up prices for our customers. Or it will mean they let people go, and we might have to as well.

EmergencyGoBags.com

Owner: Claudia Wolfkind, Murrieta, Calif.

How would the proposed $9 minimum wage affect your business?

The $9 minimum wage will have a negative effect on our business by forcing us to raise prices and possibly cutting back on some of the products that we carry.

How does the proposed $9 minimum wage affect any hiring decisions you’re currently faced with?

We are currently in the process of hiring/looking at hiring… the positions we are looking at now require more than minimum wage for the type of positions and therefore we’ve had to extend only part-time work offers rather than full-time. With the minimum wage going up it will force us to either not hire any more people, hire only part-time workers and/or just have the current employees take on more work. Our company is currently experiencing “growing pains” we need help… but we’re in that window where we just cannot afford the help we need!

Do you believe your business would benefit from the $9 proposed minimum wage or be adversely affected? Why?

Our business would be adversely affected by a $9 minimum wage because we work with suppliers and manufacturers who run larger businesses and we already know that they will be hurt by both the minimum wage increase and Obamacare.

What it means is that the consumer is going to be the one hurt by price increases, as all the businesses (as well as ours) have to deal with the ever increasing burden of new costs and regulations… it seems to be a never ending cycle. Small Business owners are either forced to do everything themselves, making it impossible for them to have time to grow their businesses, let alone have any time for their families — or they need to hire experts to handle the work for them and therefore be in business solely for the benefit of others, as any profits goes into someone else’s pocket.

At times it seems like a no-win situation. You stay in business because you believe in what you’re doing, what you’re offering will help others and because you still believe in the American Dream!

Kleids

Owner: Monroe Kleiderman, Clearwater, Fla.

How would the proposed $9 minimum wage affect your business?

It would make us less competitive with imports.

How does the proposed $9 minimum wage affect any hiring decisions you’re currently faced with?

It would mean keeping all new hires to part-time hours.

Do you believe your business would benefit from the $9 proposed minimum wage or be adversely affected? Why?

Adversely affected. The cost of raw material and services will go up and force me to raise my prices.

Sweetly Divine

Owner: Mark Grodkowski, Logan, Utah

My business’s name is Sweetly Divine, and just like many businesses in America, we hire people to help us get the product to the public. We are a small business and we are always looking to get the best price for our customers. We understand that the pay we offer is not a salary you can build your life on, but rather is a transitional job, where mostly college kids will work or someone who is going through some hard times.

We currently have three employees, and if I would be forced to raise the minimum wage to $9 I would have to lay off two of them and work additional hours myself. This would slow the growth of my business.

When the business grows and I am able to pay people more, I do so according to their skills and desire to work.

Over the years I have had many employees. At one point I had nine people working for me. One employee started as a dishwasher, but was able to advance to a manager. The business grew and increased in sales, and it was exciting to be able to provide my employees the opportunity to advance in the company. Not only was I able to help the community by providing jobs, but I was able to spend quality time with my own family. However, because of the economy’s downfall, I was forced to lay off many people. Now I work 16 or more hours a day, and don’t get as much time with my family as I would like. If the wage were to increase to $9 an hour, I would be left with no other option than to lay off the few employees I do have. I wouldn’t feel like I was benefitting the community, because I would not be able to provide employment. I want to provide jobs. I want to be a source of hope for high school and college students, those temporarily unemployed, and anyone else who needs a job. But if the pay were to increase, there’s no way I could provide that.

Nebraska Star Beef

Owners: Dale Klute, Joe Klute, & Tony Mayes, Holdrege, Neb.

How would the proposed $9 minimum wage affect your business?

It will drive up labor cost on our beef production, which will likely drive up the cost of our beef.

How does the proposed $9 minimum wage affect any hiring decisions you’re currently faced with?

It will force us to “do more with less” to keep prices from going up too radically, which is not likely to help sales…

Do you believe your business would benefit from the $9 proposed minimum wage or be adversely affected? Why?

People who earn minimum wage don’t really fit our customer demographic, and it’s hard to imagine that increasing production cost will result in a more affordable product for the higher earning customers.

–

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Comments (78)

silenthell
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 2:06pm
Try fixing the economy moron so more people have the opportunities to make more money.

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- JRook
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 3:57pm
  “The Marketplace by TheBlaze, a unique online store featuring some of the best and finest small businesses in the nation.” Who would have guessed the level of self promotion extended to the entire staff.
  
  Report this comment
- JRook
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 4:00pm
  “By the time we pay all the taxes and jump through all their hoops to stay in business we have to practically work for nothing as owners.” Really how’s about the owners show us their business and personal tax returns so we can see exactly how the money is spent. No chance the family car or business vacations with the wife find their way onto the books.
  
  Report this comment
- JRook
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 4:05pm
  The problem with the economy Jack is that real wages have gone down since the 1980′s despite the fact that there is increased concentration of wealth among the top 1 percent. That doesn’t translate into them suffering from paying a living wage to workers so that demand increases. As it is demand not the wealthy who create jobs. Henry Ford was chastised about paying his workers $5 a day by the robber barons of the early 1900′s. In response he indicated that it dawned on him that if his workers could afford his cars he would sell a lot more of them. It was these types of insights that led to the expansion of the economy. Not the wealthy enjoying higher than average ROIs. The two things that are dragging the economy are the drop in real wages since the 1980′s, the proliferation of one sided free trade agreements and the concentration of wealth.
  
  Report this comment
- fdraiden
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 6:45pm
  @JROOK
  Do you even have a grasp of basic economics?
  
  Report this comment
- Salamander
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:52pm
  It isn’t the employer that sets the ‘fair wage’, nor is it the government that determines ‘fair wage’ (although, it is impossible to convince many from believing this). Rather, it is the length of the employment line and what those in it are willing to accept for the same services! More people of similar skills for same job = lower compensation! Fewer people of same skills for same job or more jobs = higher compensation! There was this fellow, Adam Smith, who wrote this book called ‘The Wealth of Nations’! Those that ‘believe’ in a ‘minimum wage’ should read it! My ‘minimum wage’ is that amount below which I’d go find another job rather than accept that level of compensation! For a government to ‘set’ a ‘minimum wage’ is pretty brash–all that is accomplished is to remove those very real jobs that are worth less than the artificially selected ‘minimum wage rate’, thus denying anyone and everyone who is willing to do that work, an opportunity to have a job, supplement their income or start an investment account, the first step on the Road to Riches! It is those jobs, below the ‘minimum wage’ that could secure your future, if you are willing to do a little more for a little less in order to have something to invest! Too bad! WRONG-HEADED GOVERNMENT! No government is stronger than the market–EVER!
  
  Report this comment
- Mstr Smith
  Posted on March 7, 2013 at 6:56am
  JROOK…Do you own or have you ever owned a business? What was/is it?
  
  Report this comment
Eric-n-OTown
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 1:53pm
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Poverty Level for a family of three, as described by the President in his State of the Union, is $19,530 (http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/13poverty.cfm). At $9 an hour, that comes out to $18,720, still below the poverty level. Never mind the fact that when you increase the minimum wage, the costs of goods and services goes up to compensate for the increased cost in labor, which will subsequently raise the poverty level! This is not about improving people’s lives, it’s about buying votes. Raising the minimum wage will not improve anyone’s life for the long term. After a couple of months you will be right back in the same spot you were in before the increase. A minimum wage is guaranteed unemployment, and so long as people only perform jobs at the lowest end of the spectrum and expect to make a living off of it, we will have poverty. The poor will always be among us, so long as people are free to make decisions for themselves and face the consequence of their actions.

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- thx1138v2
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 2:32pm
  Raising the minimum wage is not about a “living wage.” Many union contract wages are tied to the minimum wage. When the minimum wage goes up, their wages go up also an there’s nothing the employer can do about it even if they wanted to. That applies to unionized government employee wages also and that employer could care less – just raise taxes. So those government employess get a raise while the money to pay for it is taken from the taxpayers leaving less money in the private sector.n So even if you aren’t an employer you’ll be paying for it.
  
  Report this comment
- JRook
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 4:15pm
  I understand the math might be a tad tough but you do understand the concept of inflation. And we are not talking about the poor here we are talking about providing workers with a living wage. “The minimum wage reached its (inflation-adjusted) historic high in 1968, when it was raised from $1.40 to $1.60 per hour. Adjusted for inflation using the BLS online inflation calculator that would come to $10.55 per hour in 2012 dollars.”
  
  Report this comment
- mgrodko1
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 6:32pm
  I came to this country with 24$ in 1984. My first job was very important to me, because it was a first job and it also was minimum wage of $3.75. Because of that pay and seeing that so many people did better then me, I was motivated to get better and then get better pay. This is what America was to me. Gave me a chance to grow. I would hate to have a job at first with enough to live on. It would made me a lazy person and no desire to get push for better tomorrow.
  
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FightingBear
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:45pm
It makes no difference if the minimum wage is $9.00, $20.00 or $50.00 per hour. The minimum wage worker will always be living in poverty. They may have more mioney in their pocket,….but that money doesn’t have any more buying power than they had when they were collecting $7.25 per hour. The cost of goods and services goes up when the minimum wage goes up.

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rosegrower
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:33pm
Two of the more insidious reasons to raise minimum wage are these: 1) union pay scales are indexed to the minimum wage, so raising minimum wage also gives unions the chance to increase their wage demands come next contract negotiations, and 2) people who earn minimum wage still pay into the Social Security system, at the flat rate of 15.2%. The government is balancing their Social Security deficits on the backs of minimum wage earners, many of whom are illegals (think fast food and lawn care) who will never DRAW Social Security. Nice job, Barry!

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Bodankeu
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:33pm
I run a day summer camp staffed by 50 high school and college students at $7.25/hr. To raise minimum wage to $9.00 would mean that our weekly camp rates will increase by $17/child. This increase would cost a single working mother with 2 children $272 over the 8 week program. Who does Obama think is going to pay for this wage increase?! He really does think that money grows on trees! He’s taking money for low and middle class families – many already struggling to make ends meet, to give a good portion of it to kids working summer jobs and part-time jobs who don’t need it. He doesn’t understand the law of supply and demand because he’s never really worked a real job. If you have a great employee at $7.25/hr, you’re going to give him/her a raise so you don’t lose a stellar employee. Those who don’t get those raises either haven’t earned them or are kids working a first job.

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politigus
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:12pm
Mandating a higher minimum wage is akin to Hoover’s actions when he bullied companies into keeping high wages during the initial stages of the Great Depression. It didn’t work out well then and won’t now, either. But, why learn from hindsight?

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- missdagnytaggart
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:31pm
  Why doesn’t congress just raise minimum wage to $20 an hour! If the average American citizen had any knowledge of basic economics they wouldn’t fall for this nonsense.
  
  Report this comment
DebateMe
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:11pm
Minimum wage is a materiel component that drives the unemployment rate higher.

Politicians love to stand in front of adoring crowds and promise them higher wages and while their constituancies cheer and applaud, to-date they have never connected the dots that there are fewer jobs as a result.

So yes, if you find a job you’ll get paid more money. But look around, jobs are hard to come by partly because of idiotic policies such as minimum wage. Not every job in the universe is meant to be a livable wage job. But as far as politicians are concerned, every job MUST be a livable wage job.

This has been going on my entire life and our electorate is substantially dumber compared to when I first entered the world so this kind of thing will continue.

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huey6367
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:17am
Making a low wage should be incentive to get off your a** and do something with your life so that you are a more valuable employee and worth more money. It’s just that simple.

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Citizen-1
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:07am
I have on average, 32 employees with an average pay of $8 an hour. These are HS grads/GEDs and some college students. Lets do the math if the minimum goes to $9 an hour. That’s $1 more.

32 ppl x 40 hours a week = 1280, 1280 x $1 = $1280 x 52 weeks = $66,560 a year of additional payroll costs

Now lets find out how many ppl I have to fire.

$66,560 / $9 = 7,395.55 hours / 40 hours = 184.88 / 52 weeks = 3.6 ppl

Can’t fire 3.6 kids, have to fire 4. This will be 4 more kids without a full time job and I’ll have to crack down on the rest to get the same job done. I know a guy with 224 employees. He’ll have to cut 26 full time jobs.

That’s 30 jobs lost with the stroke of a pen. Can’t wait till Obamacare hits next year either! That will really help small business. NOT.

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- DebateMe
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 4:44pm
  @Citizen-1
  
  You’d think showing the math could at least get liberals to stop and think. But it’s be hammered into the liberal pschye that arithmetic is hate speech and racist. Citing the numbers demonstrates you are just another angry wall street fat cat.
  
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HelloWorld
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:56am
I was taught as a teenager that minimum wage is not supposed to be a livable wage. But the minimum amount you should make as a teenager prior to developing your career. In essence the least amount you will ever make as you move up the ladder of hard work and successes. When did this get changed to represent a livable wage?

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- AmericanStrega
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:09am
  You are 100% correct!
  
  Report this comment
- Detroit paperboy
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:10am
  The problem with a living minimum wage, is that Maria from Guatemala gets a job at McDonald’s and stays there for life, taking the jobs our teens used to have, which got them off the streets, taught them responsibility and put a little money in their pockets….Maria is happy to not advance, and combined with the welfare freebies she is eligible for , she’s fine…..if the logic works at 9 per hour, then it works at 500 per hour………
  
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- AxelPhantom
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:15pm
  Detroit paperboy,
  
  I think you need to get out more. I live in South Central Texas and there are plenty of “Marias” down here and yet my kids never had a problem finding one or even two entry level jobs.
  
  Once two of my boys were loading 80 lb bags of concrete for me into an open trailer at a home improvement store and a man after watching a while, apporached them and offered them a job at $15 an hour. They already had jobs and were still in High School so they turned him down, but I think if kids really want a job they can find one, may not be perfect, but what job is?
  
  Over the years my kids have scrubbed toilets, cleaned up dog doo, mucked stalls, flipped burgers, sold clothing, worked landscaping, cleaned out old warehouses, refereed paintball, detailed cars, poured concrete, picked crops, nannied for disabled children, babysat…. the list goes on and on. Never once did they tell me they couldn’t find a job….until my oldest son was about to graduate college in ’09. Now he is in the Air Force, I guess he found a job!
  
  Report this comment
bman546
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:49am
A minimum wage also pushes the lesser skilled worker out of the workforce. The lesser skilled worker’s competitive advantage is they cost less to employ. If you force employers to increase pay up to a certain amount, you have increased the pay scale up to the more skilled worker’s rate. If both workers cost $9-$10 per hour, why give someone just starting out, or someone less skilled a job?
For you dopes out there, think of it this way, ground beef is $3.00 a pound. Filet Mignon is $8.00 per pound. The government says all beef products must be sold at a minimum of $8.00 per pound.
How much ground beef gets purchased at $8.00 per pound when you can get filet mignon at that price? For you idiots that think Filet Mignon can raise it’s price, you’re wrong. The market has already determined the price of filet mignon at $8.00. That is how the world works, but liberals just don’t get it.

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- rosegrower
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 12:30pm
  Bingo! During the ’80s, I worked a minimum wage job as a second job, along with two other people who had zero job skills and who could only hope to hold onto minimum wage jobs. When the minimum wage went up, so did the unskilled labor; I could make change AND clean out bird cages AND answer a telephone in a professional manner AND write down messages that were comprehensible, so that made me worth the increase. The unskilled went back on welfare and undoubtedly have stayed there. Obama’s minimum wage increase will create more of the same, now that there are skilled people who are out of work and willing to do whatever they have to to earn an income.
  
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lynnissmart
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:34am
dublinthewagons: reply to your post re: min. wage purpose….you may be right, but I also think it’s a ploy, along with regulations, to put the small businessman out of business!!! This pos govt surely is not business friendly!

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merchantsailor
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:18am
This administrations on going vision of Utopia.

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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:12am
.
Hey Obama Minimum Wage yourself………..

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Gargent_Furball
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:08am
The Result of Minimum wage Fiasco.

You Pay More for the Product.. Sales go down, prices go up. People get laid off. Less Jobs.
You Need more government help to sustain a living. You get it and are now a lazy A$$ with no desire.

Solution, Fire the US Governemnt no brains and elect someone smart. Get the communists out.

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soybomb315_II
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:05am
The question I ask liberals is, “Why does the government make it illegal for me to work for $6/hour?”

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- TheIggies
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 2:34pm
  Because then you have to get on government programs to help get you food and shelter and medicine, since you can’t afford those things on your own.
  
  Wow! I just solved your riddle in 2 seconds.
  
  You’re dumb.
  
  Report this comment
willingtoupe
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:56am
If you can’t afford to sustain and pay for the cost of living for your workers, then you don’t deserve to carry the title “Small Business”. You shouldn’t be in business if you can’t afford the cost. The %tage yield of the minimum wage should correspond to the up/down tick of the cost of living.

The 13th Amendment and involuntary servitude doesn’t only apply to blacks by the way.

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- AmericanStrega
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:12am
  I’m guessing you’ve never owned a business.
  
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- Zipit
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:14am
  Wow! Your a real brain there TwoTurds! You do nothing but present yourself as one of the many idiots that frequent this site and others, who have obviously never run a business, let alone have a career, or hold any meaningfully position!
  
  Report this comment
- AmericanJane
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:25am
  Spoken like someone who has never worked for himself! Let me tell you something… Do you have any CLUE what is like to run a small business? Even before Obamacare, by the time our overhead/employee’s wages/taxes/insurance were paid, we were making LESS than our employees. Everything we made was sunk right back into our business to grow it, knowing that if we sacrificed for a while, in the end it would be worth it. All we want to do is GROW and this government is doing everything it can to prevent it. It is PURPOSELY driving small businesses out of business by it’s policies. Small businesses employ America. That is a FACT. And this jerk and his administration are making sure that it’s impossible for anyone to live the American dream. I am sooooo sick and tired of hearing how people are OWED. We have busted our tails for 15 frickin’ years for our business and we are no better off than when we started…. Laying off workers, doing more with less, working longer hours, being reamed by taxes, regulation, and more taxes! I just want the government to get off my back to let me be free to pursuit my dream! But no, they have to regulate us to death. But keep on saying you’re owed. Keep on believing it’s your due. Make your uninformed comments about how if you can’t afford to pay $9.00/hr then you shouldn’t be in business. Obama’s policies have made SURE we can’t afford $9.00. There was a time when we paid $14.00/hr. Now, we can’t even afford to hire. Wake
  
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- txannie
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:26am
  @willingt…are you one of those ‘special’ kind of stupids? A one person operation is still a ‘small business’. Forcing someone to conform to your standards of what you think a small business is is just as bad as the gov defining what you can have for breakfast. You work the way you want to and quit trying to force your ideas on others.
  
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ZAP
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:45am
I agree,everyone holding a government job should be paid $9.00 an hour….That’s all they are worth.PERIOD

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- huey6367
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:20am
  I think of government work as a service to the country. You do it to serve your country not make money.
  
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AxelPhantom
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:41am
What they fail to mention is that a person who is earning minimum wage has another source of income open to them which more than doubles their income. Between food stamps, section 8 housing allowances, government funded retraining, home energy subsidy payments, free telephones, subsidized day care, Medicaid, All of the real essentials of life are taken care of that $14,000 is almost free and clear.

There are some minimum wage earners who would NEVER consider taking help from the government, but I would venture to bet they won’t stay minimum wage for long given that independent attitude. (I know, been there, done that).

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/entitlement-america-head-household-making-minimum-wage-has-more-disposable-income-family-mak

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- dublinthewagons
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:05am
  Dont forget UNEARNED INCOME TAX REFUNDS. The government will refund what they should have earned if not too darn lazy to work.
  
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- AxelPhantom
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:14am
  Dublin, it is in the calculations at the link.
  
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- Priscilla King
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:18am
  Well, I’ve been paid by the work done, not by the hour, for years. It has not added up to $9 per hour, or even close. I’m still not willing to take “help” from the government. I’d probably have taken “help” from relatives who wouldn’t miss the odd $50,000, but I’m not asking them for money unless I can honestly tell them it’s a worthwhile investment (which is now, finally, the case). But I can tell you that people who are willing to live on a small income without begging for more ARE likely to be living on a small income for many years, despite their “independent attitudes.” Positive Thinking is a socialist-totalitarian thing.
  
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- AxelPhantom
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:46am
  Pricilla,
  
  Let me tell you our story. We had two children before graduating college, and never took government money, not even the earned income credit. We both worked opposing shifts and made our class schedules out so that one of us was always home with the kids.
  
  It meant my children wore doctored up clothing from the free boxes at garage sales same thing with our furniture and small appliances, we learned to fix them.
  
  We rented a trailer with mice in the cabinets for $100 a month. Our car was 15 years old and the floorboards were rusting out. Eating out was a once a month occurrence where the kids split a happy meal and mom and dad ate at home. We didn’t have a television, computer or game system, but we did have our education which we were building so that life would not always be like that.
  
  Those two oldest children worked from the time they were 15. Started at minimum wage and in 6 months were at $9 ph. They worked two jobs while putting themselves through college. We as parents probably could have paid for it out of pocket but we didn’t volunteer and they picked up the ball and ran with it. Our third child who is now 20 works full time + and goes to school part time (and pays for it). He gets $11 ph plus a 401K with matching, health, dental and eye care.
  
  It all comes down to the choices we make in our own lives. Sometimes it means a little suffering to reach your goals. Keep going! :)
  
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FullMoon
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:39am
They will need the increase in wages once the price of goods and services also increase. There will also be more unemployed people. Win-win situation in the eyes of this administration.

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- willingtoupe
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:07am
  @Fullmoon. OR business owners need to give up their frivolous lifestyles of supporting their alcohol habits, out of wedlock mistresses, escort services, strip club visits, and Rx addictions in order to free up some cash and put it to good use and pay their employees what they truly deserve.
  
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- jstan442
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:33am
  @willingtoupe or maybe the welfare participants should get out of be,stop smoking crack,take care of their kids,get an education and work for a living thereby finding independence and the ability to think for themselves instead of chasing commie dreams aka obama
  
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- Fubared
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:36am
  Toupe when is the next OWS camp out scheduled? Moron comes to mind, but you aren’t at that elevated level yet, you big old risk taker you.
  
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- Zipit
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:37am
  Yo! Tommy Two Turds….. Is your 99 weeks about to run out or something! Mommy kickin ya out of the basement? Seriously! You/no one can be that stupid!!! Please explain?
  
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- willingtoupe
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:43am
  @JSTAN Smokin’ Crack? Well since you haven’t mentioned it, I guess it means hillbillies don’t equally have a problem with Meth smokers then…
  
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- Disgusted_150
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:06am
  What iteration of troll are you ToupALoop? Jerk? Encinom? People working from minimum wage are not your best workers. This is not an indictment of them, but of what they work for. Minimum wage jobs are mostly for people who are either just starting out, need to get back on their feet, or don’t really need the money, they just want to work in retirement. The government should think about increasing the value of the dollar before they worry about raising the minimum wage. This would have the same effect, right? Less money spent for more goods…what a novel idea…but, I’m too lazy for that, let’s just let the government do it. They NEVER screw anything up they touch…
  
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- jeffersonian1776
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:09am
  WillingToupe, If we use your logic and extend it further, then why the heck don’t we just make minimum wage $100 per hour. I mean, just imagine how much their employees will have, a minimum wage employee will now be able to live like a millionaire. Then think about all the jobs that would be created because they are going to buy stuff with their money. Then the places that they spend their money at will be hiring more people cause they will be getting more business (just forget that they would also be under the new minimum wagew law, we do not want to think that far ahead).
  
  Shoot, why doesn’t the gov’t just add a few zeroes to everyone’s bank accounts (well they’re sort of already doing this). That would put demand for all products and services through the roof, right? Who cares about about not having the ability to increase the supply of resources in a finite world at the same time they have artificially increased demand, you economic illiterate! But, as Bernanke said, people such as yourselfd will be happier if they “feel” wealthier, though the very fact is they’re actually more the poorer.
  
  CAPITAL IS HETEROGENEOUS–Look it up!
  
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progressiveslayer
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:38am
This collectivist regime like all other communist regimes push the minimum wage BS and like the article reads it causes employers to hold off on hiring. Let the market determine wages and keep the government out of it and you’ll have a better outcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca8Z__o52sk

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SamIamTwo
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:36am
One bite of the elephant at a time…donkey or whatever they be.

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cdn1979
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:35am
I’m calling BS all over this story. for example, the current minimum wage in utah is 7.25. if it goes up to 9 dollars, that is an increase of 1.75 per hour. why would you have to lay off two of the three staff. laying off one would cover the increase for the other two and not being a cheap boss would allow you to keep all three. creative learning connection has no employees at all. she employs family. that means her small business sucks and can’t hire anyone at any pay rate. the chocolate lady did nothing but attack government in her responses to the bogus questions. of course paying people more will put less money in the owners pocket. no one runs a business for a loss. if you have a good business plan and can execute accordingly, you can succeed. otherwise get out of the way losers! also, increase the prices of your products. everything else goes up, o should your prices.

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- progressiveslayer
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:40am
  Paul Krugman you da man!
  
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- Listen_then_think
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:01am
  CDN you obviously don’t run/own a business. It is not JUST the increase, you also already pay higher payroll taxes. You also already pay higher fees for all your products/ingredients/packaging. When oblameocare kicks in you will again pay more. If you are forced to pay for benefits on top of everything else…. More fees, more taxes, higher costs of everything. Every business out there can’t be a multi million dollar business even if they have a great plan and execute it. If that were the case, most small businesses would not fail, everyone would have a small business, and everyone would be the top 1 %. Before you tell us how much you know about everything, go start a business and get back to us.
  
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- dublinthewagons
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:11am
  Cdn. What union did you say you work for? Or are you a college professor at I.T. ( idiot tec. )
  
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- jeffersonian1776
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 11:20am
  My God! CDN you’re a freaking genius, man! Hey, how ’bout this, why don’t we let the market and the needs and demands of INDIVIDUALS decide what is a solvent and successful business, versus the government making it that much easier for big businesses to profit (you know, the evil big businesses you despise so much). If you had any literacy of economic laws, you would be wishing for a minimum wage of $0.00. Go ponder on what that would do to the economy. Would jobs be created or destroyed here? I thought people like you were for the little guy, but the truth is, you really don’t know what’s going on at all.
  
  CAPITAL IS HETEROGENEOUS!
  
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Sargeking
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:30am
This really isn’t rocket science. If Mr. Obama wanted to help business, small or large, he would revoke Obamacare. That is the single worst legislation in American history and it is killing new jobs. Instead of common sense we get Sequester-scare. The latest outrage is closing down public tours of the White House, even though it is fully supported by volunteer (unpaid) tour guides. To add insult to injury our Great Leader forges ahead with $250,000,000 in aid to Egypt to be followed-up with 1.2 billion more dollars chasing after our modern fighter jets and best tank in the world! I’m nonplussed!

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- Dde13
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:44am
  Sarge I agree.. The bottom line, it’s a way Barry can collect more in taxes to increase the size of government. Barry is KILLING FREEDOM DAILY.
  
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lynnissmart
Posted on March 6, 2013 at 9:25am
The purpose of the minimum wage proposed by the pos admin. is to put small business out of business. Then the remaining large business can be nationalized by the govt……simple!

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- dublinthewagons
  Posted on March 6, 2013 at 10:15am
  The purpose of a minimum wage increase is to get the dumb vote
  
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