Posted by Laurie Ehlbeck On March 01, 2016 2 Comments
By Laurie Ehlbeck
We haven’t even made it out of the first quarter of 2016 but there is already plenty for small businesses in New Jersey to be concerned about on the upcoming legislative calendar. Senator Sweeney and Speaker Prieto seem determined to continue to challenge the economic stability of our state by introducing bills to nearly double minimum wage, mandate all employers provide sick leave and attempt to convince the voters that a pension payment must be constitutionally required. Sweeney and Prieto are creating what may ultimately amount to the most hostile session in state history in terms of damage caused to the small business community.
When it comes to minimum wage it is imperative that as a society we are honest about what it truly is. Minimum wage is not now, nor has it ever been, a vehicle in which to feed a family 4. It is an entry level wage that is earned almost exclusively by teens and young adults seeking work experience and a smooth transition into a career. Raising the minimum wage again, especially to the rate of $15 will have one direct effect. It will result in a loss of job opportunities for those seeking to expand their skill sets. It will not alleviate poverty. It will not empower the middle class. It will leave teenagers wondering what to do after school.
According to a recent study, 63 percent of workers who earn less than $9.50 per hour are the second or third earner in their family and 43 percent of these workers live in households that earn over $50,000 per year. In spite of what the proponents would have you believe, minimum wage earners are not an impoverished, disenfranchised group of struggling single mothers just trying to make ends meet. Most are teenagers from middle class families and many more are sharing the responsibility of providing for their families, not breaking under the burden of putting food on the table.
https://savejersey.com/2016/03/small-business-new-jersey-paid-leave-minimum-wage/
Don’t forget the impact of their plan to raise gasoline taxes to pay for pensions and health benefits for public workers – how does that help small businesses in NJ?
How does a constitutional mandate forcing the state to make pension payments help small businesses? All that does is burden everyone in the state with higher taxes to prop up benefits for less than one fifth of the state’s workforce. Everyone pays for benefits for the elite few sponsored by Sweeney and Prieto – suggests they are not Democrats, but nothing more than Union toadies and apologists.
Look at New York… see the hypocrite Liberal Governor of NY who has implemented MASSIVE Tax cut and incentive packages for (evil) businesses that come to or expand in NY… and business is booming… job growth is up and money is flowing into the state. A very (evil) capitalistic program the liberal implemented… but we know why he did it… because capitalism works and socialism fails.
Now, if Christie did the same thing in NJ, the unions and the newspapers would lead the charge at how evil he is, catering to the 1-percenters and the bad, bad businesses… the “people” would revolt and nothing would get done.
unions and newspapers would NEVER let it happen