Property News · July 20, 2014

The benefits cliff: when minimum wage increases backfire on the people in need


For many Americans living in poverty, the real cost of higher minimum wage could be benefits lost by a few dollars gainedFederal workers get higher wages – but won’t catch up to CEOsWho would oppose a $15 minimum wage? Sometimes your neighbourHere’s the paradox of the minimum wage: even as the higher minimum wage attempts to lift low-wage workers out of poverty and help them get off benefits, it might actually leave them worse off than before. The reason? The few extra dollars tacked onto their pay checks cause them to lose their federal benefits, including food stamps or housing subsidies. For example, a wage of about $11 to $12 can cost a single mother with two children their food stamps, also known as Snap benefits. A wage of about $15 to $16, similar to the minimum wage recently enacted in Seattle, can leave that same family without any childcare benefits. Continue reading…

Source : theguardian.com
Read more…The benefits cliff: when minimum wage increases backfire on the people in need

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