Oh, you've missed the other half of the GENIUS...
Viewpoints differ on Democrat's 10-dollar minimum wage proposal
by Eric English | The Saginaw News
Saturday July 25, 2009, 4:00 AM
Anthony Johnson gets $8 an hour to wash dishes part-time at a restaurant, earning a paycheck that has to stretch far to make ends meet.
"It helps out, but it don't totally pay the bills," said Johnson, 38, of Saginaw.
So Johnson says he'd support a $10-an-hour minimum wage proposal floated by the Michigan Democratic Party. The present minimum wage in Michigan is $7.40 an hour.
The wage increase might make it to the 2010 state election ballot. It's one of several initiatives Democrats are considering that would require petition drives to put to a vote.
"People of Michigan should be asking their government and their elected officials: 'Whose side are you on?'" said Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer.
Saginaw resident Joe Cox, 49, who recently lost his job in the insurance industry, feels the wage plan would have mixed results.
"You need to make more money, but when you do, they lay someone (else) off," said Cox, who's looking for a paycheck that will cover his mortgage.
Brandon Barrett, 23, of Midland also is seeking a job after losing his $9.72-an-hour position with a contractor for Hemlock Semiconductor Corp. in Thomas Township.
He supports the Democrats' $10-an-hour plan but feels it will have the unintended consequence of increasing the price of goods and services.
Michigan Chamber of Commerce President Rich Studley spoke to business groups in Frankenmuth on Thursday who expressed concern.
"Many of those companies are an important part of our travel and tourism industry," Studley said. "When they learned this morning of this ballot proposal, they were dismayed and just shook their heads."
Studley said a higher minimum wage would make it harder for small businesses to hire entry-level workers and could force the layoff of existing employees.
Yet at least one business operating in Saginaw County already is on board with the Democrat's plan.
Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby, a private company that has a store at 2480 Tittabawassee, set a $10-an-hour wage for full-time employees in April.
Along with the minimum-wage idea, other Democratic Party proposals announced this week include mandating health care for all employees or requiring the employer to pay a penalty; increasing unemployment benefits by $100 a week and extending benefits by six months; cutting utility rates by 20 percent, and imposing a one-year moratorium on home foreclosures.
Democrats plan to poll their party activists and decide later whether or not to launch petition drives to get any of the proposals on the ballot.
http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2009/07/viewpoints_differ_on_democrats.html
Oh, your freaking kidding me! So how many other businesses do liberals want to run out of the state of Michigan?
Un-friggin-believeable.....
Yeppers. Raising the minimum wage in Michigan, forcing new health care costs on businesses, forcing new “initiatives” from the welfare-fed thieves (er, democrat voters).
Yes! THAT will bring new businesses and jobs to Michigan! Riiiiiiiight.