B.C.'s minimum-wage workers are falling further behind
Summary:
This article talks about how British Columbia is the only province in Canada with a frozen minimum wage. Workers in Nova Scotia recieved an increase for minimum wages 24 hours after Ontario recieved an increase on their minimum wage. Currently, Ontario's minimum wage is the nation's leading with $10.25. British Columbia is currently at the lowest with $8 for minimum wage. As British Columbia's minimum wage remains frozen, the average wage of workers has risen to 21% before inflation of about 17%. The same inflation is limiting British Columbian's spending power. The Government and many employers argued about raising minimum wages. Employers state that raising minimum wages would hurt the ones that should be helped because this would reduce people being hired. It was expected that youth unemployment would have decreased in British Columbia relative to those that have increased. British Columbia's youth unemployemnt rate fell before the recession, but risen back when the Liberals took office. The one thing that seems to be floating around is that minimum wage will increase not unless British Columbia abandons any government that mandated floor for employers. The longer the Goverment keeps British Columbia's minimum wage frozen, the harder life gets for those who make that much.
Connections:
The connection to this article and chapter 5 is inflation and unemployment. There is currently a dispute whether British Columbia should receive an increase in minimum wage or not. Due to the current recession and inflation, this would impact unemployment rates greatly because if there were to be a raise in minimum wages, it would cost the employer more money to hire an employee so hiring people would decrease. Some employwers may end up laying off people because they can't afford to pay their employees. if this happens, poverty in British Columbia would increase.
Reflection:
In my opinion on this article, I think that the Government should take action and raise the minimum wage in British Columbia, by a reasonable amount that employers can handle. This would help the economy better because this would give workers a little more money to spend, making their lives easier. Youth unemployment rates would most likely stay the same because there is only a little change in the minimum wage, which would impact employers slightly so they don't lay off employees.
Source:
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/minimum+wage+workers+falling+further+behind/2752317/story.html
I agree with you that the government should raise the minimum wage. From the textbook, it says CPI reflects how prices have change on retail goods. This shows that CPI is a good indicator for determining the minimum wage because people need to have enough money from their wages to buy their daily needs to survive. I just checked from the Statistics Canada that the CPI for Canada has increased 1.6% this year. If CPI is a good indicator for setting a minimum wage, British Columbia should follow, like other provinces, increase the minimum wage. If minimum wage is still frozen, lots of people can’t afford to live in BC because they don’t have the money to buy daily goods to sustain life. Also, if minimum wage doesn’t change, many people in BC would choose to move to another province because they won’t be able to afford living in BC and because of the attraction of higher wages. BC’s population would decrease and would affect BC’s economy.
ReplyDeleteVanessa Lo
Economics 12
D1 P3
I agree with Ellick and Vanessa about the government raising minimum wage. If BC had their minimum wage increased just like Ontario and Nova Scotia, we wouldn't have to think even more before buying a product or service. Many people seemed to have a lot more money issues now than before. CPI is a good measure of the economic indicator since it measures the level of change in retail prices in Canada each month. With what Vanessa said, CPI increasing 1.6% this year, it is probably due to the Olympics that were held in Canada.
ReplyDeleteSteven Tran
Economics 12