This Bear Is Up a Tree

This Bear Is Up a Tree
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Minimum Wage May be Lowered in Colorado

Oh, my goodness! The NY Times reports today that the state's minimum wage "is set to drop 4 cents, to $7.24. Most workers will still get at least $7.25, the federal minimum." Read the story and explain how this happens - and what considerations go into assessing the ethical and legal issues. If you are an economics major, business or pre-law, this is a topic that you might find interesting.
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11 comments:

  1. hilliary cheathamWed Oct 14, 11:34:00 AM 2009

    My question is, in the grand scheme of things, what big of a difference is four cents really going to make to the employee?

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  2. callmecrazyWed Oct 14, 11:36:00 AM 2009

    I don't understand why they would lower the minimum wage for that reason. Does the decrease in inflation require people to get paid less? The only reason I could understand the decrease in minimum wage is if businesses can't afford to pay the original minimum wage, otherwise it doesn't make sense to me.

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  3. Michelle CarterWed Oct 14, 01:54:00 PM 2009

    I think if this is how business want to save a little money its not worth it because it decreases customer service by making employees upset. getting 7.24 an hour doesn't really bring in a good income stream. So i do not think that the business or the state shoud decrease minimum wage.

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  4. TravisWed Oct 14, 03:02:00 PM 2009

    That would be so lame if minimum wage was lowered, it is already hard enough to get by on that kind of money, but if someone pushed it down lower, that would really be a bummer

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  5. djhWed Oct 14, 04:09:00 PM 2009

    Here are my questions - (1) what is the technical/legal reason for lowering the minimum wage? The rate of inflation is the trigger to raise or lower, but what created that situation? (2) Do you think businesses will lower the current wages of people, or will they just hire new people in the ordinary course of business at the lower minimum wage? (3) What is the basis for this unintended consequence? Do you think the voters who created this situation thought it would evolve as it has? Why?

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  6. Tanou ZThu Oct 15, 10:09:00 AM 2009

    I thought that generally speaking if you increased the minimum wage then by default you must also increase the prices on goods. So is it that by decreasing it, things in colorado will be cheaper?

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  7. Logan BrockMon Oct 19, 09:34:00 PM 2009

    Technically if we are experiencing inflation then the purchasing power of each dollar is lowered, which would require the minimum wage to be raised. The situation that could have possibly caused the rate of inflation is the struggling economy. I don't think it is the decision of individual businesses to decide minimum wage. i do not think that voters intended for a regression of our economy.

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  8. Shaily ParikhTue Oct 20, 11:36:00 PM 2009

    I don't think the minimum wage should be lower than it already is. Even though 4 cents isn't going to make much of a difference to a persons paycheck, it should stay the same or increase.

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  9. Jennifer TheallWed Oct 21, 03:52:00 PM 2009

    I think minimum wage is low enough as it is. But if they must lower it, what will 4 cents really do?

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  10. ChewyThu Dec 03, 02:04:00 AM 2009

    People look at 4 cents and just think "ok its just four pennies" but little things add up over time and it becomes a big loss in the long term. If gas went down four cents, then everyone would be able to drive farther for the same amount of money they put into gas.

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  11. jordan kruegerThu Dec 10, 10:23:00 AM 2009

    Four cents does add up and it can be a big loss for some.

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