Can you imagine a $10 minimum wage? It might be coming to Michigan after Democratic lawmakers introduced a legislation to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour over the course of three years.
Currently, the minimum wage in Michigan is $7.40 but lawmakers want to raise this significantly. Democratic Reps. John Switalksi of Warren and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit are the main sponsors of this legislation which was released on Thursday. They believe that raising the minimum wage would reduce income inequality and would give citizens a "chance at a better life," the Associated Press reports.
Senate Democrats attempted to introduce a similar bill back in February.
Republicans have not welcomed the legislation with open arms. Republicans who control the Legislature and Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. Believe that raising the minimum wage would hurt employers and they wouldn't be able to afford to hire people.
The last time the minimum wage went up was in 2008. Workers in Michigan earn overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week.
In most states, the federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour. Twenty-two states follow this minimum but 19 states have a minimum wage that is higher than the standard $7.25. Four states actually have a minimum wage that is les than the federal rate and five states have no established minimum wage laws.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren believes that the minimum wage would currently sit at $22 minimum if it matched worker productivity. President Obama recently proposed that the federal minimum wage should be raised to $9 an hour.
Other states are also attempting to get the minimum wage changed. Massachusetts is pushing for an $8 minimum wage in one bill while another would take it up to $11 over the course of three years. New York and Maine also recently approved a minimum wage hike up to $9 an hour.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
