As of early 2026, a $ 25.00 per hour minimum wage is not a federal standard, but rather a private sector benchmark adopted by companies like Bank of America for U.S. employees. While some proposals seek to raise state minimums toward this level by 2031, others warn it could lead to higher prices and reduced staffing in sectors like restaurants. Bank of America raised its minimum hourly wage for U.S. employees to $ 25.00 in September 2025, continuing a trend of increasing wages from $ 17.00 in 2017.
Proposals, such as Senate Bill 5578 in Washington, have explored raising state minimum wages to $ 25.00 per hour by 2031, which proponents argue would support over a million workers. Small businesses, particularly restaurants, express concern that a $ 25.00 minimum wage could lead to layoffs, reduced hours for workers, and higher prices, with some owners calling it potentially disastrous.
The federal minimum wage has remained at $ 7.25 per hour since 2009, with many states operating with higher minimums (e.g., Florida reaching $ 15.00 in 2026, and Illinois already at $ 15.00.
Lawmakers in Maryland are considering the contentious “Living Wage Act for All.” If successful, the state’s minimum wage would spike to $25 an hour – up from the current $15 – by 2030. It would raise workers’ minimum wages to the highest rate in the nation. The changes if passed would affect food chains including Texas Roadhouse, Taco Bell, McDonald’s and Chipotle, all of which have multiple outlets in the state...
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Reasonable?
ReplyDelete14 dollars an hour, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks per year
$14x40x52=$29,120.
Could you live in Florida with $29K pre tax?
No sick days, no vacation days. You get sick a couple times miss 5 days of work you are making 28,560.
A room near Miami is $1000 per month if you want to rent an apartment it is at least 1300 per month. Add utilities, health, etc and you very quickly realize you can't afford to live on $14 per hour.
And we all know that kids in high school wanting to earn pocket change need to be able to pay rent and support their wife and three kids.
DeleteHow 'civic' of Bank of America's Virtue Signaling. It is easy to raise your minimum wage when you only need highly qualified people with a college degree. Which of course for the left will be a sign that if Elon Musk can make a billion a year, janitors should get at least as much.
ReplyDelete"A Living Wage" is not what the minimum wage is for. It's a entry level wage, where you start and learn how to do better.
ReplyDeleteAs you do better, prove you can take more responsibility, you anvance and make more, and more. Poof, one day it's
"A living wadge".
I have so many questions!
DeleteHow are people supposed to "live" while they learn how to do better? It takes years to learn, get promoted and poof make more money so that they can get a living wage. How are they supposed to survive those years?
What about the people that never get promoted to higher paying jobs? You know, the people that don't go to college, blue collar workers, roofers, factory floor workers, fast food workers.
How are they supposed to live? Frugally. Companies aren't charities. If a person doesn't return value, why train them? Especially if after you train them they're just going to leave and go to your competitor. When in high school, kids should be learning the basics of work, showing up on time, and so forth. Your "living wage" makes it impossible to hire some high school kid. 4 years later, he still isn't worth hiring because he has no experience and you raised the minimum value he has to return in order to be hired.
DeleteBusinesses were not created to give others jobs. The job comes from needing help because of the popularity of the business. Raise prices to pay for ever expensive employees, the business begins to taper off. The balancing act the the government parasites don't comprehend. They just want to buy vote with other peoples money.
ReplyDeleteANY governmental demand for wage floor or ceiling is antithetical to free market capitalism.
ReplyDeleteAnd taxation is theft.
While I agree with your sentiment, that's a bad argument. A better argument is that any wage floor prevents people who aren't worth that amount from obtaining a job. Wage floors (minimum wage) forces a permanent unemployed class of people who aren't capable of being productive at that level. Combine that with the inflationary pressures and you hurt the people you supposedly want to help.
Delete