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Title: Republican Governor Signs $15 Minimum Wage Bill in Terrible 'Grand Bargain'
Source:
Reason
URL Source: https://reason.com/blog/2018/06/28/ ... -gov-signs-15-minimum-wage-bil
Published: Jun 28, 2018
Author: Joe Seyton
Post Date: 2018-06-29 07:20:27 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 1966
Comments: 9
On Thursday, Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a bill that will raise the minimum wage in his state to $15 an hour by 2023 and authorize a generous paid leave program. The governor's goal, it seems, was to stave off a threatened reduction in the sales tax at the ballot box. Baker touted the legislation as a "grand bargain." But in this case, the winners are those advocating for a higher minimum wage and more mandatory paid leave for workers. The losers, on the other hand, are the voters who won't be able to decide on these issues for themselves—and the taxpayers and businesses who will have to face the consequences of the new policies alongside high sales taxes. According to the Associated Press, had voters approved a ballot measure lowering the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 5 percent, the state would have lost about $1.2 billion a year. By agreeing to a compromise that kept the sales tax issue off the ballot, Baker was trying to ensure the state won't lose that revenue. At the same time, he also went out of his way to keep voters from deciding whether or not they wanted to lower the state's sales tax. The legislation will gradually raise the minimum wage from $11 an hour to $15 an hour by 2023. Tipped workers, meanwhile, will see their minimum pay increase from $3.75 an hour to $6.75 an hour over the next five years. Currently, the only other governors in the country to have signed $15 minimum wage bills into law are Andrew Cuomo of New York and Jerry Brown of California, both Democrats. Roughly 840,000 worker will get a pay raise, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. However, the bill will also eliminate time-and-a-half pay for Sundays by 2023. Regarding the new paid leave policy, workers will be able to take as much as 12 weeks off if they need to care for either an ill family member or a new baby. They'll be allowed up to 20 weeks to deal with their own health needs. State Rep. Paul Brodeur (D–Middlesex) said it would be the most generous in the country. Finally, the bill does not lower the state's sales tax, though it does institute an annual sales tax holiday in August. "I am thankful that all parties came together, compromised and found common ground to produce a better set of policies than what the ballot questions represented," Baker said Thursday. "The Massachusetts workforce continues to grow with more and more people finding jobs and our administration is committed to maintaining the Commonwealth's competitive economic environment." Though business leaders are concerned about raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, some seem to think that it was better to implement an increase via a compromise rather than through a ballot measure. "A lot of small businesses out there are fearful and angry over a potential $15-per-hour minimum wage and a new paid leave mandate, but we have to look at the reality of what we might be able to do through a compromise instead of what would occur through a ballot initiative," Jon B. Hurst, the president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, told the Boston Globe. "You don't reach compromises on the ballot. You reach compromise through the legislative process," Hurst added. The Republican governor of Massachusetts just made a deal to give away more freebies and keep taxes high.
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
Wrong way to look at it. Had voters approved a ballot measure lowering the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 5 percent, the voters would have paid about $1.2 billion a year less in taxes, allowing them to spend (or save) that money as they see fit.
A huge unfunded mandate. If this only applied to government workers, that would be one thing. But forcing a private employer to pay a worker more than what he's worth is socialism at it's worst. How about if we pass a law freezing legislator's salary but gradually increasing their work week from 40 hours to 80 hours by 2023?
Can you be an elected pub from Massachusetts? Isn't that really just saying you are a demoncrat soft but not a batshit crazy demoncrat?
This asshat is just another of many RINOs!
Liberals are like Slinkys. They're good for nothing, but somehow they bring a smile to your face as you shove them down the stairs.
So if you're not worth $15/hour, these assholes just made it illegal for you to get a job. Simple fix: move. Or go underground and work for cash or tradeout. This move will hasten the inevitable: if your job can be done by a robot, it will be.
He's a genuine REAL Republican, like Masshole Mitt Romney the 2012 GOP presidential candidate
Notice how these despicable socialist-elitists are always grinning at these signings like the pompous gasbags they are as they steal OTHERS money? As though they dig deep into their OWN pockets. They are always awfully proud to give OUR hard-earned money to lazy parasites as they pose and play Santa Claus. I won't be here to see it, but wouldn't it be nice to divide Conservative, constitutional America from Fascist-Dem Amerika? Their side would turn into Venezuela Junior within a half-dozen years.
If the president and state governors can only serve two four year terms, then the senators need to be restricted to two FOUR year Terms and the congressrats to four two year terms. It's too bad only Congress can decide length of terms and their cushy benefits. There has to be a way to circumvent this greed.
Liberals are like Slinkys. They're good for nothing, but somehow they bring a smile to your face as you shove them down the stairs.
No surprise. Look at what passes for a Republican in the northeast.
In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments.
According to the Associated Press, had voters approved a ballot measure lowering the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 5 percent, the state would have lost about $1.2 billion a year.
#2. To: Deckard (#0)
The legislation will gradually raise the minimum wage from $11 an hour to $15 an hour by 2023.
#3. To: Deckard (#0)
#4. To: Deckard (#0)
#5. To: Deckard (#0)
#6. To: IbJensen, another serverly conservative masshole (#4)
This asshat is just another of many RINOs!
#7. To: Hank Rearden, IbJensen (#5)
(Edited)
#8. To: hondo68 (#6)
#9. To: Deckard (#0)
On Thursday, Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a bill that will raise the minimum wage in his state to $15 an hour by 2023 and authorize a generous paid leave program. The governor's goal, it seems, was to stave off a threatened reduction in the sales tax at the ballot box.
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