From State Sen. Bob Cassilly:
The General Assembly spent a significant part of the 2016 session working on problems concerning youth in Baltimore City. Much of the discussion was about bringing economic opportunity to a city where the real unemployment rate among young black males approaches 50%. Clearly we cannot afford to write off an entire segment of society to lives spent on government programs, on the streets, or in prison. Young people need the option to pursue entry-level jobs that offer a chance to cultivate basic, real-world skills that will enable long-term personal and professional development.
Governor Hogan and the General Assembly responded to these concerns by funding new job development initiatives. The Governor also championed efforts in Baltimore and across the State to remove barriers to those employers willing to offer young people a chance to develop marketable job skills and begin their pursuit of the American dream.
Under the circumstances, Maryland taxpayers should be able to expect that Baltimore City, the primary target of these job building initiatives, will support these taxpayer investments by standing behind those companies willing to undertake the enormous risk and considerable burden of bringing often poorly educated and undisciplined young people onto their payroll. Unfortunately, it appears that some members of the City Council want to saddle state taxpayers’ outlays for City youth with yet another tried-and-failed, big government approach – an increase of the minimum wage to $15.00. It is simply astounding that the City would even consider imposing what amounts to a penalty of about $5.00 per hour on employers willing to employ and train Baltimore’s youth.
An increase in the minimum wage to $15.00 will force companies, and at least 25% of the skill developing jobs, to leave the City, and the least employable among the young will, once again, lose out. The only sure winners in this scheme would be the City lobbyists, who would return to Annapolis next year looking for more state taxpayer funds to prop up this failed policy, and those politicians who are more interested in showing their support for an unrealistic, out-of-touch national-level progressive agenda than in finding practical, effective solutions for the plight of Baltimore’s unemployed youth.
Senator Bob Cassilly
District 34, Harford County
Moving my business out of Baltimore city within six months.
I hear that many people are saying – Don’t let the door hit you in the @ss on the way out.
Haven’t heard that. Have heard that many of your friends are anxiously awaiting them to vacate so they can pounce on the empty structure and make it their new crack house.
I thought all you Conservatives supported growing and expanding businesses?
Of course they do but only if it benefits them.
“Don’t raise the minimum wage!” So easy to say if you don’t have to actually live on a minimum wage! Or try and live on a minimum wage. And don’t forget that great health care package the state gives you which probably adds another 35-40% to your already generous salary package.
Raise the minimum wage…….then say good bye to your Obama care subsidies
Can Mr Cassilly cite any examples of what he is claiming?
Lets say you start a job at $$ 8.00 per hour. If you are a good employee you will get raises because your employer wants to keep you and doesn’t want to have to train someone else.You will soon be making $15.The problem with $ 15 minimum is that you will soon be making $20 for a job that is really only worth $8. The company won’t be able to afford this and will close.Also for $15 per hour you can hire better educated employees so the less educated and people with less experience will not be hired and these are the very people you want to help.
So what you are implying is it’s the person and not the job that dictates minimum wage. So if I’m the best cashier shop rite has ever had one day I can be making 6 figures bagging groceries?
It is amazing the number of people who have been brain washed into thinking keeping people poor will result in a robust economy.
Never happened never will, just look where we are by keeping minimum wage below inflation.
go educated yourself and learn some advanced job skills
maybe you could make more than minimum wage
Mexicans will bag groceries for $5 per hour and mow my lawn for $20
Look, another conservative voting harford county white male with atypical attached racial bigotry.
People like you are why there is a majority change to Democrat.
Typical bleeding heart progressive. Redistribution of wealth is not a sound economic pillar. I would go along with a min wage COLA, however $15/hr to flip burgers is financial suicide. Just Dems trying to suck the lifeblood out of small biz owners who risk everything so these people have a place to work. Asking someone to ‘graduate’ from an entry level position through dedication and learning new skills is not racism, it’s American.
But he’s *right* about the money. You need to address that, Democrat.
The Mexican mowing your grass for 20 bucks is doing 40 of them a day. Do you make $800 cash per day?
Idiot – one man cutting 40 lawns a day, really? He’s the Mexican RoboLandscaper, I suppose. Even if he has a riding mower he’s not cutting 40 a day. Not even the most ‘murcan strong man alive could do that.
Really? 40 lawns a day?
The only lawn being cut for 20 bucks is a town house. Yes 40 a day. Of course you could equate it to the average stamped out development lawn for $125 / cut and yup they cut a minimum of 8 per day.
Isn’t math fun.
Duh, your aren’t intelligent enough to mow grass. Stick to what you know, playing with your balls in mom’s basement.
For the record, they cut my 4 acres for $20.
He was just being “sarcastic” ! Haven’t you got a sense of humor? TRump S
What is not mentioned is that if you raise this minimum “living wage” to $15 per hour. Fine. Do it.
Then watch the cost of goods increase. Simple economics, but businesses need to make profit. Paying employees more, just because of some short-sighted law, is going to crash the City economy. Look at the bottle tax…people just went to the county to buy drinks.
Bag tax?
$15/hr wage? Sure! You get your wish! But then don’t b1tch and complain when that $1.88 Big Mac is now costing you $5.00.
Minimum wage was never intended to be a career choice. Sadly, there are many who see it as such and of course since it’s not enough to live on they insist it must be raised. For some reason many of them actually believe business owners will shoulder the cost instead of passing it on to the consumer… gleefully dreaming of passing a law to stick it to “the man” while in fact they’ll be sticking it to themselves. How will increasing the take home pay of a minimum wage earner help when the cost of everything else will swell to consume said increase? It’s simply a naive attempt at redistribution which is doomed to fail and hurt everyone in the process. A sizable portion of the populace needs a crash course in Capitalism. Attempts to remake the US into a Socialistic society will only destroy the very qualities that make people in Socialistic societies dream of coming here. A marketable skill via education or apprenticeship is the only way forward. This generation has the world (Internet) in their pocket… the answers to any question they can imagine and yet they allow it to go to waste.
I am implying it is the person and the job that dictates your salary and of course you hit a plateau in any job. That’s when you ask for more responsibility and a wage increase. If your employer will not give it to you, you look for another job with your experience and work ethic you received from your previous job. I think paying someone $15 to take out the trash, wash dishes, cut grass or make beds just because the government says so will do more harm than good.
“I think paying someone $15 to take out the trash, wash dishes, cut grass or make beds just because the government says so will do more harm than good. ”
You are entitled to think what ever you wish. Fortunately for the real world your ideas on minimum wage have been shown to be wrong every time.
Really? Please cite examples of where the increased in minimum wage, to $15 per hour, has shown promise? Please don’t bore us, and skew the facts, by stating that some small, Mom&Pop Grocer, or Deli, has raised their 3 employees to $15 an hour. That has very little impact on the business and overall economy.
Take McDonald’s. How would it be good there?
Burger King?
Subway?
Wegmans?
Giant?
7-11?
Any other low-cost, high-turnover business where employees are there as a stepping stone. Employers need to make profit. You don’t make profit, by cutting into them, to pay employees more. What is the recourse for companies to recoup their profits? Easy – raise the price of goods.
So while people like you, and many others with a narrow vision on this whole matter, see that PEOPLE ARE FINALLY GETTING A LIVING WAGE! It will all, eventually, even out when the cost of goods increases.
Let’s start with the farmer paying field labor $15 / hour to pick the vegetables for the restaurant. The wholesale price of those vegetables just increased so the farmer can pay his workers $15/hr and still turn profit.
The vendor buys these vegetables at higher prices, and passes that price increase onto consumers via a higher markup. Where a green pepper was $1.49 / lb last week, is not $2.09 / lb this week…because of the minimum wage increase.
The chef who purchases the previously mentioned green pepper, to use in dishes at his restaurant, has to now raise the prices on entrees to cover the cost of the increase of one…simple…green pepper.
Again, tell me how raising to $15 is good for anything? What is it teaching the youth? Don’t work hard to get ahead, if you bitch and moan enough…and hold pickets and signs in front of TV cameras, the politicians will bow down and get you that raise!
Let’s not even discuss the lost income to the local government, via tax revenue, when those businesses depart that area (say, Baltimore City).
Do you think the government is exempt from making profit? No. They need that to cover their loans, payrolls, cost of goods and services, just like any other. Where do you think that they will recoup their lost revenue?
Right! Increased taxes, on those same individuals now making a “living wage”.
“Please cite examples of where the increased in minimum wage, to $15 per hour, has shown promise?”
Ever here of a city called Seattle? I imagine you probably miss the news on their raising minimum to $15 because Fox news doesn’t like the truth.
1. Enought time hasn’t passed to prove that.
2. Seattle and Baltimore is nearly like comparing San Francisco & Detroit.
3. Increased labor costs always lead to higher product cost. Thats why iPhones are made in China and Fords are more expensive to build than Kia.
Maybe Bernie will let you move in with him at his new $700k third home so you can afford the new costs, taxes, and health care the Dems want us to pay
Oh sweet Jesus…..
1) Enough time has passed and the sky didn’t fall
2) We aren’t comparing cities we are comparing minimum wage increases…. focus.
And you hit it out of the park with number 3….. Germany takes the lions share of I phone profits.
Stupid and ignorant is no way to go through life Mediocrity…
Bawahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Speaking of stupid, Dear God must be younger than 40. It’s been said if you are conservative at 20 you gave no heart, but if you’re 40 and a liberal, you have no brain.
You can’t compare the digital economy of Seattle with Baltimore. They can support $15/hr less painfully. Unless we find a way to tax heroin and illegal handguns.
Liberals are sooooooo tolerant & nice, that is unless you disagree with with them. Its like a Jim Jones cult, follow Hillary to the spacecraft. ..m
Mediocrity can’t figure out how the rely button works.
No surprise.
The fact that Deplorable tries to support an argument and has no facts on farm workers and how they are paid is actually kinda funny.
Here’s a clue…. piece workers…….
The problem is that minimum wage simply hasn’t kept pace with costs over the last 30 years. My total college cost, with room and board, was 16k. Today, the same school costs 96k. Minimum wage was 3.35; I could work a whole summer and pay for a pretty good chunk of my fall tuition. Today, with minimum wage only 2.25 times what it was then, a kid can work all summer and not even make enough to pay for their books. I’d have to work about 30 weeks to pay a full year of tuition, room, and board. Today, I’d have to work 72 weeks!
Not to mention, cost of vehicles that are 3-4 times more, rent that is the same, etc.
We don’t want people on welfare; we want them to move up. But the cost of moving up is exhorbitant in relation to what someone at the bottom of the ladder is earning. When you consider that the vast majority of minimum wage earners are students, single parents, or elderly…how do they stay afloat?
How do they stay afloat, let alone move up?
Obama Phones, EBT Cards and other Government Entitlement Programs.
Even if that is so, it goes to my point: if working full time at minimum wage doesn’t enable you to better yourself, then what is the incentive over staying home and collecting?
To clarify “Rent that is the same”- I meant, the same as vehicles, 3-4 times more expensive. Sorry for any confusion.
Skilled tradesman only make about $17-$20 per hour so why should someone who has no job experience at all and flips hamburgers make $15 per hour. Where would be the incentive to improve yourself if you start making the same pay as someone that went through an apprenticeship for 4 years.
Skilled tradesman are grossly underpaid at 17-20 per hour.
Interesting you chose the name “overtaxed” then complain about raising minimum wage. I will assume you are a middle class working person and yes you are overtaxed but you have no clue how or why. You are overtaxed because you are stuck paying the shortfall, minimum wage workers experience doing a job making the 1% rich. I will take a guess you frequent places like Wal MArt McDonald’s a Ravens or Orioles game or any one of a thousand business’s that do not pay their workers a living wage and because of that model you are the one stuck covering the bill they can easily afford. Politicians like Mr Cassilly don’t get donations for their political endeavors from poor people which is clearly why he is fighting to keep them poor.
Raise minimum wage by 1 dollar tomorrow and I can guarantee you everyone getting that extra 40 bucks will spend it every week. Give the owners of Wal Mart a 10 million dollar tax break and they will put it in a Swiss bank account. Want a better economy? Stop giving money to the 1%
Follow the money.
“Where would be the incentive to improve yourself if you start making the same pay as someone that went through an apprenticeship for 4 years.”
There would not be any real incentive and many would remain in those jobs for years. This is exactly where those who are recommending this move want those voters to stay, all the time making the minimum wage earner believe that the politicians pushing this issue are really working for them instead of against them. It has been happening for years. Just listen to the voters who have escaped the low wage positions through hard work and education. They know the difference.
At what point did minimum wage become a career path? Learning a marketable skill via education or internship is the answer. Jacking the rate up to 15… basically a $31,000 income will result in business owners pushing the added cost onto the consumer which will result in sweeping price increases that everyone will face – and those already making a decent income to those who are just barely hanging on won’t be seeing any pay raises to offset those increased prices. They’ll just be tighter than ever or they’ll drown. This is a naïve income redistribution plan that will hurt everyone.
Newest generation of Young people don’t want to work trades anymore. They want to sit in an office and watch a screen saver all day.
Its even increasingly difficult to find someone to drive a dump truck.
In the history of minimum wage increases that has never happened in the past and history has shown just the opposite.
Where do you get your facts from?
You cite the history of minimum wage increases… did you look at the history? CNNMoney has a nice graph. Looking over it, the single largest increase I see was in 1950 when it went up a bit more than 60% – from 40 cents to 75 cents. The only other increase that comes close is the rise from the ’06 rate of $5.15 to the ’09 (and current) $7.75 but this increase saw two intermediary steps of $5.85 and $6.55 in ’07 and ’08 – but even then it’s only about a 50% increase spread over three years. An increase to $15 would be more than a 100% increase – instantaneously. I hardly think it’s fair to cite past increases and assume a similar outcome when faced with an anemic economy to begin with. Perhaps you’re correct… perhaps business owners from Walmart to the Deli down the street are so fat they’ll be able to more than double the payroll without resorting to any increase in their goods or services. In fact, I seriously hope you are correct.
40 cents to 75 cents is a 60% increase
$8.75 to $15 is more than 100%
Seriously?
Common core math.
I was using the Federal 7.25 not Maryland’s 8.75. My mistake. I did the other in my head and mistakenly used 25 instead of 35. Again, my bad. I’ll modify my initial point… There hasn’t been an increase like the one being proposed since 1950 when there were probably hundreds of people trying to live on minimum wage so I think it unwise to try to ascribe parallels in today’s climate. If you’d rather attack the math than the actual point, that’s OK. You were making a point that history “has shown just the opposite”, so you’re predicting that when employers start having to pay double on payroll prices on goods and services are going to drop.
Well of course prices will not drop but what you will see as has happened every time minimum wage goes up, people who are the basic spenders in society will have more to spend. The economy needs money changing hands and not squirreled away. When your local business has an increase they will not be firing people but will actually start hiring. Business will be buying equipment and expanding as history has shown.
Every time in the past the economy picks up after a wage increase, The longer it is kept below inflation the worse the economy gets. Just look at today’s economy, the middle class is being drained by the lower class to fill the pockets of the 1%. Companies have record profits, CEO’s are making record salaries, stock market is booming yet there is nothing for the middle/ lower class except a slow slide backwards.
Smart business people who specifically do business with those getting a raise will move to the city.
RE:?say – A 6o% increase from $8.75 would give you a $14 min-wag.. But I wouldn’t mind a 100% wage increase at $17.50. WOW! FIGHT FOR $17!
Why stop at $17?
Let’s pay everyone $170 an hour! Then everyone could be rich, have a boat, send their kids to private school, and enjoy vacations in Ibiza.
Avoid Baltimore City until they fall on their knees and replace their politicians with non democrats that actually have a plan.
Be careful what you say about Baltimore City. Someone will call in the DOJ to do one of their fair unbiased investigations. We all know the amount of integrity that Loretta and the gang have. LOL
Decades of poor progressive policies intended to be a safety net for honest people who have fallen on hard times ($56 trillion with a ‘T’ has been spent on the war on poverty since late 69ties) has not resulted in making the poor self sufficient. Free money over time creates disincentives to provide for yourself and has unintended consequences of single parent families( couples who work get less free stuff from the government since they go over the limits)
Dems are essentially perpetuating poverty to buy votes. Creating jobs and training by stimulating business, (not taxing it out of the state) then incentivizing families is the way out of this mess.
Not $15/hr, free health care, free tuition. …
May I recommend you search out on the internet a multi millionaire named Nick Hanauer. He has many great videos and articles, he even has a facebook page.
You could learn a lot about how jobs are actually created and how the economy works.
Here’s an inside hint trickle down doesn’t work and keeping poor people poor will never make you or the economy successful.
Good Luck, you need it.
I’ll text you a pic of my MBA.
Not heard of this guy, but I can take a look
Trickle down is a bit spotty, I agree, however disincentivizing business by forced market conditions even worse.
Move to Europe if you want zero growth, free but crap health care, failed immigration, spiralling debt….
The only luck I will need is surviving in world with liberals who try to solve other people’s problems with other people’s (my) money
Trump university MBA is impressive.
LOL
Actually Gary, Loyola. It was challenging, caused me to miss significant time from my family, and cost me $15-$20K out of my own pocket. But go on, belittle an actual American that worked his way up becuase i wanted to, who pays a large tax bill, keeps his neighboorhood and property values up for Harford County, volunteers at church and has responsible hardworking children.
You’re right, I probably should fake a back injury, collect disability, and rail about the A$$holes who actually thinks that continously giving befefits to people over time erodes there sense of committment and self worth.
For the record , not a Trump fan. but still betteer than an entitled, slippery, corrupt, progressive, lying, fake witch that is HRC.
You mean stupid trickle down theory that has lead to Walmart informing all new hires on how to apply for public assistance because Walmart refuses to pay a decent wage. That wasn’t a progressive policy, that was a Republican one.
You are absolutely right. What this will do is cause business owners to either lay people off or nor replace by attrition. I also have a graduate business degree and learned this in Economics 101.
The order takers and money collectors in restaurants can easily be replaced by touch screens and credit card machines and atms. Half of the cooking in mcdonalds is already automated. Business people will find a way to make money with less people or go out of business. The wall street journal just had a report that says exactly what Mr. Cassilly said. Unfortunately, too many people think these jobs are a career.
If you think a career is working part time making $8.75/ hour, you are nuts.
Step away from the herbicides Einstein.
Sen. Cassilly: “Increase in the Minimum Wage to $15 Will Force Companies, and at Least 25% of the Skill Developing Jobs, to Leave the City” …. Really!?!
How much “skill” does it take to run a cash register, be a fry cook or bus tables? And these are “Skill Developing Jobs”? How many folks do you know that worked their way up the ladder in any of these jobs Senator Cassilly? They are only temporary jumping off points for people that will eventually find better paying jobs, not what Republicans have made them into, dead end survival for a large percentage of our citizens. If you want an economy that thrives for the upper 1% by underpaying the other 99%, then you better be ready to share the gains with that 99% because they are also the people that buy your goods. Without them, you have no business.
Besides, seeing the caliber of some employees who have taken these jobs, maybe management should be a little more choosy when it comes to hiring.
Hey Genghis aren’t you the guy who hates that teachers would like more than a 1% raise every 6 years? And yet these people are critical to the shaping and education of the people who are going to be running this country in 30 years…and yet you want to double the pay of someone who’s largest ambition in life is spreading mulch. What happens to the guy who got some education and is now making $14/hr? Do we move that guy up to to $21/hr? Does the guy who studied for 4 years and incured $50k in student loan debt…do we bump him from $25 up to $30+?
My question for all the liberals who think they can solve all the worlds problems by distributing a never ending supply of money……Who is paying for this? The rich? Not enough of ’em…who is next….the middlle class? Brilliant! They are doing so well under Obama’s last place economic recovery and 1.2%GDP. “75 straight months of job growth…too bad they’re all at WalMart” How about we double the country’s debt to $40 trillion, is that going to help everyone?…all while the country slips into a social progressive European economic death spiral. Do we really think it is worth $40 for a family of 4 can eat at McDonalds so that the min wage can be artifically manipulated and crush small biz owners who risk their life savings and mortgage & work 80 hrs a week, all in the hope they can sqeek a living after paying for all Obama’s new regulations and absurd HealthCare burden upon them.
Here is what I could get on board with…..maybe
I could live with an increased min wage with mandated COLAs. ….IFFFFFFFFFFFFF
We cut about 80% of people off of welfare, stop giving incentives for extra babies and not being married, kick all the illegals out who are a silent economic drain at the bottom of the wage scale, competing with actual Americans for unskilled work.. Also, mandate that you are enrolled in some sort of skill based education, or your min wage will decrease after X number of years
You have no clue how the economy works and thanks for sharing that with the world.
Not true, what I don’t undertand is how a liberal economy works! Maybe we can check Spain, France, Italy, Greece…etc to see how they are doing? Central Bank negative rates, oppresive debt, disheartening unemployment /underemployment/people quit looking for work, immigrants flooding into the country as to only take advantage of liberal welfare and healthcare policies (without and intention of intergrating into teir society), zero growth, no wage inflation for years on end….Almost sounds like America….hmmm
I guess me and my master’s degree in Business and Econ, who reads the WSJ every day, reads the ‘Economist’ ,watches financial shows, invests and researches in the stock
market…yeah , guess I’m am pretty well clueless and disconnected. Sorry:((, should have become a “Community Organizer” instead
PLEASE in a 1000 words or less, enlighten me and others to how crushing small business owners, driving them out of town/state, increasing costs for those who actually write a check to the IRS every April is great policy. If you tell me that it will put money into these people pockets and that they will spend it..thats not pHD level economics. Hell, you give me an extra $10k, I’m going to spend it too, probably on tuition. Where is this extra money coming from? Do you want a $9 Quater Pounder?
If you want to call it socialism, so be it, please don’t confuse this for sustainable economic growth. If an economy is strangled from GDP growth, it will die a slow death like Japan. Crappy progressive liberal polyanna policies sound like they are well meaning…Who doesn’t want to help someone who actually needs it – but are hopelessly misguided.
There are better ways to lift people out of poverty, but that would mean less votes for the Dems who prefer their voters poor, uneducated, sometimes illegal, and addicted to hand outs.
Free Money you have a very unique perspective of the economy. Can we agree the economy is a pyramid with the base being the majority of people tapering up to the peak which would be the economic elite.
Some how you believe that destroying the foundation of the pyramid will lift everyone up to new prosperous level. No educated economist has ever suggested this would be a viable option. You should run for office, you could use Governor Brownbacks failure as your model.
Hey Free Money, did you ever stop to think that we (the 99%) are ALREADY paying to subsidize Walmart and McDonalds. If you want to cut entitlements by over 60%, then you should be for a higher wage. Heck, you might just be able to cut taxes with that much of a savings. Get you head on straight and quit subsidizing the 1%.
And no, I’ve never proposed limiting teacher salaries.
Can’t wait till all the restaurants replace workers with technology, maybe finally we can actually get what we ordered.
Go into Home Despot. right know. They make customers check out themselves for no pay. Its optional in Wally World. You should get l0% off for checking yourself out. Customers have become unpaid workers in Home Despot!