NE1: The Northeast Minimum Wage Act of 2012 [Signed]

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

The Assembly will now consider the legislation introduced by the Governor. Debate will last 72 hours.

The Northeast Minimum Wage Act of 2012

1. Provisions 2 and 3 of the New Northeast Minimum Wage Act are hereby repealed.
2. The Northeast minimum wage shall be equivalent to the current Federal minimum wage plus 50 cents.
3. The Northeast minimum wage shall increase concurrent to the Federal minimum wage.

[Senator Napoleon]

I will speak in favor of this bill, since I have made the proposal.

Our region is a more expensive region to live in. I believe having the same wage for the same work here in New York is unfair when someone doing the same job in Oklahoma will be able to make so much more out of their earnings. The purpose of having a minimum wage is not to say one is entitled to X dollars per hour, but to create a standard quality of life, that if one works, one should be able to find food and shelter for families or in the case of young people, avoid dangerous levels of debt. I will provide a link to current minimum wage statute I could find.

http://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/The_Northeast_Minimum_Wage_Act
http://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Legislative_work_of_the_Northeast_Assembly#The_New_Northeast_Minimum_Wage_Act
http://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Reasonable_Minimum_Wage_Act
Living Wage Act

In practice, an $8.50 minimum wage would rise to $9.00 in this region for those under 21. Come July 1st, the federal minimum wage will be $12.00 for 21+ workers, so it would be $12.50 in the Northeast.

[Rep Pyrofox]

If we are intending to provide employees with a basic living wage, then I believe we must not fall below $10.00. In order to live in a region where the standard quality of life is what we today call suitable and livable, employers must compensate workers for their labor appropriately. I propose increasing minimum wage to $13.00, or I suppose concurrent to federal minimum wage plus $5.00. However, I will vote affirmatively on any effort to increase the living wage in our region to at least $10.00. Anything less is unacceptable in my book.

[Senator Napoleon]

Unfortunately, such a change must be applied at the federal level, unless you are alright with this region telling businesses to get lost. There are other regions to do business in, you know.

What this is, is a cost of living adjustment, recognizing that a fair minimum wage in this region is going to have to be a little higher in dollar value than most other regions. It also takes into account the reduced workweek, as some employees may not be getting as many hours, affecting lower paid employees more.

Oh, I also added what I missed. Don't know how I missed it on the Wiki, I feel foolish now. But if I hadn't left out an important law (which I voted for ), would you have voted against a bill that only made an increase to $9.00?

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Do we have any more specific information on how CoL in the Northeast Region compares to elsewhere in Atlasia? $0.50 seems unlikely to be adequate.

[Senator Napoleon]

Do we have any more specific information on how CoL in the Northeast Region compares to elsewhere in Atlasia? $0.50 seems unlikely to be adequate.

I have tried the search function but have no useful information. I am estimating that it can't vary too much from real life figures.

[Rep Pyrofox]

I was unaware of this upcoming wage change in July, this is fantastic news . Nonetheless, since living in this region is more expensive, we should be incrementing federal minimum wage by more than $0.50. I'd argue in favor of a one dollar increase from this, if not more, depending on what others would find acceptable.

Also, is it in our power to add a provision to our region's law which would allow for all workers 18 or older to receive the same minimal wage? I'm not sure if such a thing already exists...

[Senator Napoleon]

I like that part of the law how it is. It is somewhat of a hiring incentive for inexperienced youngs. I'd like to hear from the other Reps on what sort of increase they think is appropriate.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

In that case, I would rather see an increase of closer to $1.00 or $2.00, at least for adults and emancipated under-twenty-ones, though I would like to hear from the other members of this body before formally proposing any changes.

I don't care whether we require a higher minimum wage for dependents under age 21. If there were no federal law, I'd be against setting one altogether.

[Senator Napoleon]

Can we get more input?

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

Raising the minimum wage must strike a balance between a more fair arrangement for employees and what employers can reasonably afford to pay for the work received.

At the same time, employers must not be allowed to take advantage of workers by paying them too low a wage.

A minimum wage of 13.00 to 14.00 is a good place to start.

[Senator Napoleon]

We cannot lower the minimum wage below the federal minimum wage, Representative Winfield. Also we must keep in mind that the standard Atlasian workweek is less than 40 hours, so the wages from hours worked needs to be able to provide a decent level of support to a family. I think that we need to strike a balance between keeping minimum wage in order with our region's cost of living, and not pushing businesses and jobs away from the region.

Come July, the minimum wage at the federal level will be $12.00, but $12.00 in this region won't get you nearly as much as $12.00 in New Mexico or Nebraska or Oklahoma. Our region's workers will be working just as hard, but relative to other region's workers they will be under-compensated. I agree with you in principle, and the Northeast Region probably has less minimum-wage jobs than other regions (though I don't know where I'd find the real data to support this assumption).

[Senator Snowstalker]

I highly endorse this legislation and wish the minimum wage would be higher even than this proposal.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

I have adjusted my numbers to be more in line with what I had meant to state.

[Senator Napoleon]

Okay, so we have three Representatives largely in agreement, if anyone would like to put forth amendments that would be great.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Introducing an amendment:

2. The Northeast minimum wage shall be equivalent to the current Federal minimum wage plus 50 cents$2.00.

[Senator Napoleon]

If Representative Winfield approves of this change, then I am all for it.

[Simfan34]

My position is that economic competitiveness for our region must be maintained, but this is not irreconcilable with an increase of the minimum wage. However I'm unconvinced that a significantly higher floor, such as the one proposed, will fall in that sustainable zone. Do we have any data?

I am also not keen to support any bill that would reduce profits in the private sector as long as the Region continues to fail to have any source of income whatsoever or budget.

[Simfan34]

You might want to revisit that post.

[Senator Napoleon]

You might want to revisit that post.

Thank you Representative.

[Senator Napoleon]

My position is that economic competitiveness for our region must be maintained, but this is not irreconcilable with an increase of the minimum wage. However I'm unconvinced that a significantly higher floor, such as the one proposed, will fall in that sustainable zone. Do we have any data?

I am also not keen to support any bill that would reduce profits in the private sector as long as the Region continues to fail to have any source of income whatsoever or budget.

As for economic competitiveness, minimum wage jobs are only a small percent of jobs. This bill has a much larger impact on the economies of lower income families than it does on economic competition. What sort of increase do you think is appropriate?

The budget will be handled when the proper foundation is set, I am looking for a few more things but I don't expect it to take more than 5-7 days to really get the ball rolling. Just be glad someone is willing to deal with the dirty work.

[Simfan34]

My position is that economic competitiveness for our region must be maintained, but this is not irreconcilable with an increase of the minimum wage. However I'm unconvinced that a significantly higher floor, such as the one proposed, will fall in that sustainable zone. Do we have any data?

I am also not keen to support any bill that would reduce profits in the private sector as long as the Region continues to fail to have any source of income whatsoever or budget.

As for economic competitiveness, minimum wage jobs are only a small percent of jobs. This bill has a much larger impact on the economies of lower income families than it does on economic competition. What sort of increase do you think is appropriate?

The budget will be handled when the proper foundation is set, I am looking for a few more things but I don't expect it to take more than 5-7 days to really get the ball rolling. Just be glad someone is willing to deal with the dirty work.

I would say, in terms of numbers, a dollar now and say another in six months.

[Senator Napoleon]

I find that acceptable.

[LINCOLN REPUBLICAN]

Introducing an amendment:

2. The Northeast minimum wage shall be equivalent to the current Federal minimum wage plus 50 cents$2.00.

Perhaps we should start out with $1.50 over the current federal minimum wage, as it would doubtless work its' way up over time.  That would give employers more time to adjust. 

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

I withdraw my previous amendment. Based on Winfield's input, I propose this in its place:

2. The Northeast minimum wage shall be equivalent to the current Federal minimum wage plus 50 cents $1.50.