The growing cost to live a quality, healthy life in Thunder Bay, Ont. has outpaced the provincial minimum wage, according to the Lakehead Social Planning Council.
It’s why they’re looking for businesses in the city to join their living wage campaign, where employers agree to pay their staff a minimum of $16.20 per hour. In other words, pay the minimum amount that the social planning council says is required for people to meet the social determinants of health.
According to a new study by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a $15 federal minimum wage would destroy at least 1.4 million jobs, expand the deficit, and decrease U.S. living standards. In other words, the current campaign to more than double the federal minimum wage would inflict severe economic and social harm.
Khanna’s proposal raises questions as to what those currently making $23/hour would do if they were able to earn just as much money for less skilled work. Economists who oppose raising the minimum wage predict that efforts to do so will only cause inflation or put existing other high paying jobs in jeopardy. Furthermore, small businesses would feel the brunt of a minimum wage hike that large corporations like Amazon and Walmart could more easily shoulder.
Biden introduced the minimum wage provision in a speech laying out his priorities for a tax-payer funded stimulus package to tackle the damage wreaked on the economy by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the coronavirus.
According to a July 2019 estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, raising the federal minimum wage to $15 would lead to the loss of 1.3 million jobs while boosting the wages of 17 million workers.
