THE MINIMUM WAGE

  EQUITABLE REMUNERATION IS THE BEDROCK OF A FAIR SOCIETY

A genuinely humane minimum wage must allow the workers of any nation to reach a standard of living that is considered to be acceptable by any modern technology society. Low paid workers may have boost to their remunerative status be being eligible for affordable housing - if there were such a thing in the United Kingdom. Alternatively, Britain should provide land for trailer parks were at the moment there is nowhere for thousands of homeless people, some of which are living on the streets.

How is this possible in a United Kingdom where so many people drive expensive cars and live in luxury houses? The answer is exploitation of the work force - and this is only possible where the law of the land allows for that. If it was illegal to exploit the workforce and illegal for Councils not to provide housing for the homeless, then the economics of the UK might evolve into a fair society. We should live so long. So long as there are greedy businesses operated by greedy managers and bosses - you will have homeless people.

A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their workers. Equivalently, it is the price floor below which workers may not sell their labor. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in many jurisdictions, differences of opinion exist about the benefits and drawbacks of a minimum wage. Supporters of the minimum wage say it increases the standard of living of workers, reduces poverty, reduces inequality, and boosts morale.

Modern national laws enforcing compulsory union membership which proscribed minimum wages for their members were first passed in New Zealand and Australia in the 1890s. The movement for minimum wages was first motivated as a way to stop the exploitation of workers in sweatshops, by employers who were thought to have unfair bargaining power over them. Over time, minimum wages came to be seen as a way to help lower-income families. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century.

UK MINIMUM WAGE

In the UK the hourly rate for the minimum wage depends on your age and whether you’re an apprentice.

You must be at least:

* school leaving age to get the National Minimum Wage
* aged 25 to get the National Living Wage - the minimum wage will still apply for workers aged 24 and under


These rates are for the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage. The rates change every April.

 

Year	25 and over	21 to 24	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
April 2017 (current)	£7.50	£7.05	£5.60	£4.05	£3.50
April 2018	£7.83	£7.38	£5.90	£4.20	£3.70

The following rates were for the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage from April 2016.

Rates before April 2016

The following rates were for the National Minimum Wage before the National Living Wage was introduced. The rates were usually updated every October.

 

Year	21 and over	18 to 20	Under 18	Apprentice
2015	£6.70	£5.30	£3.87	£3.30
2014	£6.50	£5.13	£3.79	£2.73
2013	£6.31	£5.03	£3.72	£2.68
2012	£6.19	£4.98	£3.68	£2.65
2011	£6.08	£4.98	£3.68	£2.60
2010	£5.93	£4.92	£3.64	£2.50

Rates before 2010

The age groups were different before 2010 and there were no National Minimum Wage rates for apprentices

WHO GETS THE MINIMUM WAGE IN THE UK

Contracts for payments below the minimum wage are not legally binding. The worker is still entitled to the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.

Workers are also entitled to the correct minimum wage if they’re:

* part-time
* casual labourers, for example someone hired for one day
* agency workers
* workers and homeworkers paid by the number of items they make
* apprentices
* trainees, workers on probation
* disabled workers
* agricultural workers
* foreign workers
* seafarers
* offshore workers

Having looked at what the Prime Minister Theresa May has set as the minimum wage you might form the opinion that the Conservatives are (in effect) slavers - as well as being Climate Criminals,

ANTI POVERTY REFUND SYSTEMS OR TAX CREDITS

A refundable tax credit is a mechanism whereby the tax system can reduce the tax owed by a household to below zero, and result in a net payment to the taxpayer beyond their own payments into the tax system. Examples of refundable tax credits include the earned income tax credit and the additional child tax credit in the US, and working tax credits and child tax credits in the UK. Such a system is slightly different from a negative income tax, in that the refundable tax credit is usually only paid to households that have earned at least some income. This policy is more targeted against poverty than the minimum wage, because it avoids subsidizing low-income workers who are supported by high-income households (for example, teenagers still living with their parents).

The question that must be asked in relation to the administration cost of such a system, is why not eliminate the Tax Credit system and instead boost the minimum wage - or create a LOW CARBON ALLOWANCE SCHEME

LOW CARBON SOCIETY & REWARD SYSTEM

People who assist the state to reach their climate change targets in the quest for a low carbon economy should not be penalized for living a lifestyle that many would consider to be below average. Indeed, such people or groups should be recognised for the contribution that they make toward creating a sustainable economy.

USA

The minimum wage is the minimum hourly wage an employer can pay an employee for work. Currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act) and some states and cities have raised their minimum wage even higher than that. Washington and Massachusetts currently have the highest state minimum wages in the country at $11 per hour, and Emeryville, CA, currently has the highest city minimum wage at $15.20 an hour.

Employees that earn the minimum wage tend to be young, and work in businesses that keep a few cents of each sales dollar after expenses. When the minimum wage goes up, these employers are forced to either pass costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices, or cut costs elsewhere–leading to less full-service and more customer self-service. As a result, fewer hours and jobs are available for less-skilled and less-experienced employees.

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