New minimum wage has vague benefits

Michigan’s minimum wage will jump by 25 cents on July 1, which will mean pay raises for many unskilled laborers — but some Hillsdale County residents speculate that it will hurt the pocketbooks of Michigan consumers, including minimum wage employees.

Minimum wage is currently $7.15, so the increase will bring it to $7.40. This increase is the last in a three-phase process that Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed into law in October 2006.

Burger King employee Rachelle Stump, who has earned minimum wage since she accepted the job almost a year ago, said she expects price increases to keep up with her new pay raise.

“It’s the exact same,” she said. “It may look like you’re making a lot more but everything else around you is raised.”

[Read the whole story here at the Hillsdale Daily News.]

Tags: economy, fast food, free market, inflation, jobs, minimum wage