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While prices rise SS remains the same. This alone is bad enough, but what will happen to prices if and when the minimum wage is $15? How will those on fixed incomes be affected?
As a Senior Citizen, your Happy Meal will now cost the equivalent of 5% of your SocSec monthly check. That is until they recalculate the COLA to reflect the jump in Food Prices.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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One of my pert peeves is calling people on Social Security "fixed incomes."Social Security has cost of living adjustments (COLA) tied to the Consumer Price Index. If the cost of living goes up, they will get a raise. Many people having jobs get no cost of living or performance raises and may go years at the same pay, that is a fixed income. Sure, they could get a promotion or better job, but so could the retire get a part-time job or start a home based business.
The bigger effect of the $15 if nationwide would be retirees on with fixed pensions which have no COLA. Those are normally more of their income than SS. There could also be collateral damage, with reduced employee contributions to pay for the SS system payments caused by layoffs as businesses reduce staff to offset the cost of the higher wages.
While prices rise SS remains the same. This alone is bad enough, but what will happen to prices if and when the minimum wage is $15? How will those on fixed incomes be affected?
Not at all and it might actually be a good thing with robots replacing low income people.
It would make it more difficult for many seniors, myself included. Still, for the chance of any true middle class for those younger than us, and those not yet born, a huge raise in the minimum wage is needed.
It's going to make it more difficult for single low-income people without children to file for Earned Income Credit (EIC) if they work full-time. It would force them to have children in order to fall under the income threshold, and that solution would cause additional financial hardship. Or, they would have to work fewer hours which would also negate the purpose of the higher pay. Low income people with children would qualify for less EIC based upon their higher wages.
EIC would not affect seniors as their age disqualifies them. Seniors will have to deal with higher cost of labor being passed on to consumers.
"IF" the $15 minimum wage gets beyond pandering for votes, which the politicians do every few years, the next step will be actually implementing it. In a non-election year that will be much tougher than simply waving signs (unless an Obama-care like Executive order is simply dropped into place with no plan to pay for it).
But, suppose a $15 minimum actually became law (as it may in California and some tourist-intense areas, such as Destin, Fl.). The first thing that will happen is that middle managers (fast food) now making $15 per hour, would need a raise to $20+ per hour ... an on up the line in a domino fashion. Businesses will use whatever loopholes allow them to avoid the $15 minimum (ie; a minimum number of hours). Package and portion sizes will be further reduced - and finally, prices will continue to steadily increase (as they have) over a period of time (rather than a sudden 40-50% increase). Ultimately, workers earning minimum wage, whether $8 or $15, are not going to be any better off (relatively speaking) than they are now.
Retirees (and everyone else) are going to face price increases whether the minimum wage goes to $15 or not. Even without the minimum wage, the obscene U.S. debt will cause the government to print more money and thus, steadily devalue everyone's buying power. The thing that leaves many retirees in a bind is low investment returns and SS/Pension COLA's that don't keep pace over extended life spans. Overall, today's retirees will manage the minimum wage price increases (except those already living on a shoestring budget), but, middle-income America get further squeezed into a 2-tier social/economic system: The Haves and Have Not's.
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