The Age Old Wage Question

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Story Published: Jul 15, 2008 at 9:46 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 12:12 AM MDT

By Mary Sturgill

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IDAHO FALLS - Minimum wage is going up again July 24th. It will raise from $5.84 to $6.55 an hour. It's the second of three increases that will set the wage at $7.25 an hour a year from now. So I tried to find someone this will effect.

The minimum wage hike is said to pump millions into pockets of Idaho's lowest paid workers. So I set out to find them and find out what this means to them. Only problem is, everyone I called said they paid their workers more than minimum wage already. Art Rammell with Cooper Norman explains why that is. "The unemployment rate in Idaho is so low that employers are paying a higher wage to attract employees and so there aren't a lot of people typically that this affects."

So since I couldn't find employers who pay their employees minimum wage, I hit the streets just to find someone this will affect. "No everybody that I know makes more than minimum wage." "Can you think of anybody who makes minimum wage?" "I don't know of anyone."

Someone is benefiting. According to the state, pay raises for over 19 thousand workers totaled more than 12 million dollars in the past year.
"If you're a high school student looking for a summer job or an unskilled worker, it helps you. On the other side, if you're an employer, it's not only the increase in minimum wage, it's an increase in the payroll taxes that you pay, other benefits, you those kinds of things."

And those kinds of things add up.

Many of the people who make minimum wage are in the hospitality industry and they get tips. Their pay remains unchanged at $3.35 an hour provided their employers can ensure tips provide another $3.20 an hour.

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