Nearby organization owner struggles with plan of $15 minimum wage

MACON, Ga. — On Thursday night time though President-elect Biden introduced his $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan,” he shared his options to urge Congress to increase the federal bare minimum wage to $15 for every hour.

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A small enterprise operator in Macon sees the proposed wage enhance as each good and negative.

Felicia Howard owns Felicia’s Cake Manufacturing facility, a downtown bakery.  She pays her staff over the recent minimum wage. 

Right now the minimal wage is $7.25 and has been that considering that 2009.

Howard has just two workers a bakery assistant and an assistant baker. She calls them essential to her functions, stating without them jobs would not get accomplished without each individual working day becoming amazingly extensive.

The positions at the bakery are aspect-time and Howard ordinarily hires substantial university or higher education students to fill them. The baker believes what she pays her personnel is a very good wage.

And however, she points out that the cost of residing has increased up in excess of the last ten years, “All over the place you go, retail store or what have you, costs are consistently heading up,” she reported,  though wages continue to be the similar. 

Howard discussed that as a citizen, she believes that the federal bare minimum wage really should be higher, saying the if individuals have much more funds in their pockets they would invest much more and enable boost the economy. 

But on the other hand, as a business proprietor, a just about $8 an hour improve would be challenging to manage. 

“As a tiny business, we’re going to choose a hit.”

Howard attempts to price tag her cupcakes, brownies, and cake pops at a competitive price. If she experienced to hand out more funds for workers, she questions no matter if or not that would call for her to raise prices. 

Though not sure about her personal store, the baker is self-assured that her suppliers would up their costs. “A lot more than very likely, our selling prices would have to adjust accordingly or we would have to downgrade solutions.” 

A solution change could considerably effects the bakery, who other nearby small business homeowners say has the most effective pastries in town. 

Howard thinks the President-elect may perhaps not have viewed as small organizations in this proposed enhance. She suggests a system like this would most likely be a lot more fitting for a bigger company like Walmart or McDonalds, in particular considering that tiny small business are already having difficulties to remain afloat since of COVID-19. 

“There needs to be some form of guidance for enterprises to be able to continue to sustain and be able to pay back those wages.”

A capture-22, is what Howard phone calls the doable enhance. “If you elevate it and price ranges go up, is it seriously supporting any?”

In the conclusion the baker hopes the program would profit anyone but notes if you make additional, you may well have to shell out much more.