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The M&D Shapiro Hardware store located in NoHo Manhattan in which the owner thought raising the minimum wage is a good thing. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK– Assembly Democrats propose hiking the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 in an effort to boost the financial security in poorer areas of the state.
According to a press statement, a parent working a full-time job at minimum wage makes less than $14,000 a year. Currently, there are 18 states that have a higher minimum wage than New York.
“The minimum wage hasn’t increased, but everything else has,” said a local business owner of M&D Shapiro Hardware located in the NoHo area, “I think it is a good thing, and it is good for the economy.”
According to statistics from labor.ny.gov New York’s minimum wage has been raised only 10 cents in the last five years. The assemblyman pointed out that the minimum wage would be $10.80 an hour today if it kept pace with inflation since the 1970s.
However, with the current state of the economy some feel this might not be the best idea. Mike Durant, a commentator for timesunion.com, stated that a “better strategy for New York lawmakers would be to focus this year on making the state more attractive as a place to create new jobs.”
The legislation would come on Jan. 1, 2013, and if it passes, New York would have the third highest minimum wage, falling behind Washington State and Oregon according to dol.gov.
