[JCricket]

Hey folks,
On our ballot here in Colorado, we have a minimum wage constitutional amendment. It is amendment 70. Summarized into a nutshell, it forces the minimum wage to be regulated by the state. It will bring out minimum wage to $12.00 per hour by 2020, and then to increase equally with inflation.

I see many issues with this. First, it is an amendment to the constitution. This makes it nearly impossible to change if it turns out bad. Second, it does not allow for depression or deflation(unlikely but it does happen). The last is the affect it will have on the poor, the economy and those who live on fixed incomes.

It is my opinion, that as minimum wage goes up, rents directly follow. In essence, a minimum wage has little benefit towards making the poor stronger. It does balance the unethical and corrupt to an even playing field, it mandates the lowest a company can pay an employee. So, in that sense, I think it does "protect" the poor, more so than helping them. Please don't misunderstand, I think helping the poor should be one of our countries highest priorities.

Then come the affects on the economy. For most of the consumer driven side of our economy, it will have a net zero affect. However, any manufacturing and exporting could be adversely affected by the law. I do think the affects would be minimal.

But then comes another problem I see. How does increasing the minimum wage affect those on social security or fixed incomes? They do not get the benefit of these raises. So it would be very possible that a person who is living okay today, will be poverty stricken in just a few years. They would be unable to live in our state,

Example, a $7.00/hour wage equates to $14k annually. A person who is getting $2k per month on SSI or $24k annually is in essence making $12/hour. As soon as the minimum wage goes up, the buying power of those on a fixed income goes down. In short order, they will be unable to even afford rent.


Sorry for the long wined post, just kind of thinking out loud here.