comment: >
  
  Unfortunately, the super wealthy  love  the tipping culture and more waiters I know love their tips and both groups are against getting rid of tipping. 
  It's not going away any time soon. It's part of our culture now.
context: Wow. It only took 30 years of exponential ceo wage growth. >
  
  Finally getting some of that sweet sweet trickle down....mmm mmm >
  
  Meanwhile, Pennsylvania continues to tell workers to go fuck themselves with a $7.25 minimum wage that hasn't changed in almost 20 years. >
  
  How many places actually get away with it though? Most fast food chains I see in the Allentown area are at least 13-15. Warehouse is averagely 20, was about 16 before all this covid crap. I'll admit it would still be awesome if they'd actually stop ignoring that time has not stop and the world does keep spinning and money keeps inflating. >
  
  That was my thought, federal can be whatever it wants but around my area I don't see anything below 14-15 from gas stations to fast food. >
  
  I get what you're saying, but if the federal gets brought up to say $15, suddenly a lot of places are barely paying minimum wage and the incentive to work there goes down and they will need to increase. >
  
  I'm not arguing but I am genuinely curious, has it been shown in the past with previous federal minimum wage increases that it lowers incentive to work? >
  
  I'm not saying it lowers incentive to work, I'm saying that it lowers the incentive to stay at a place if the only reason for being there was that they paid more than minimum wage.
  I should have been more clear in my original post. >
  
  So workers have a better negotiating position and leverage that into raises. What's the problem? >
  
  
  
  The minimum wage is increasing on New Year's Day in 41 cities — 28 of them in California — and 23 states. Later in 2023, another five states and 22 cities and counties will hike their baseline rate, according to the National Employment Law Project, a worker rights group.
  
  
  The pay raises vary, with Michigan hiking its minimum wage by 23 cents to $10.10 an hour. Washington is on track to have the highest state minimum wage in the U.S. next year at $15.74 an hour, up $1.25 an hour from 2022.
  
  
  Among the cities raising their wage floor are Flagstaff, Arizona, where the base hourly pay is rising to $16.80 in the new year, up $1.30 from 2022; and Cupertino, California, where the minimum is rising to $17.20 an hour — an increase of 80 cents. Minnesota's two largest cities are also enacting increases, with large employers set to pay a minimum of $15.19 an hour in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. 
  
  
  "The raises we are seeing are a true testament to the power of organizing," Yannet Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP, said in a statement last week. "These raises were achieved in a variety of ways, from ballot initiatives to statehouses to workers making their demands to employers directly." 
  
  
  The record number of pay hikes will benefit an estimated 8.4 million workers, according to an analysis from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
  
  
  Six states will have the lowest-paid making at least $15 an hour by the end of 2023. They include California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Washington, NELP reported
  
  
  In 13 states, baseline hourly pay is rising to reflect inflation, according to EPI's tally. 
  
  
  New Jersey's min was slated to rise to $14 from $13 at the start of the year, but as it is indexed to inflation, the base pay will rise to $14.13 instead, the state announced in Sept
  
  
  The federal minimum wage has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since July 2009. Since then, the nation's baseline pay has lost more than one-fourth its purchasing power. When factoring in inflation, today's minimum wage hasn't been worth this little since the 1950s, according to EPI. >
  
  
  "The raises we are seeing are a true testament to the power of organizing," Yannet Lathrop, senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP, said in a statement last week. "These raises were achieved in a variety of ways, from ballot initiatives to statehouses to workers making their demands to employers directly."
  
  true, but counterpoint:
  "The raises we are seeing are a true testament to the failure of our federal government to meet its citizens' needs." >
  
  If the feds want to do it they need to drop the current flat rate and do something indexed to the area. $15/h in nowhere Kansas is different than $15/h in the Bay Area. Seeing that the feds do index other things like that - e.g. bankruptcy limits IIRC - we know they have the capability.
  Otherwise they will only be able to realistically (i.e. actually effect a change) set it based on that town in Kansas which won't even be sustenance level in much of the country.
  Oh, and ditch that tipped min-wage nonsense. >
  
  
  Oh, and ditch that tipped min-wage nonsense.
  
  That would be the biggest thing, IMO. Fuck tippd wages. I'm from WA and live in CA. WA has had a real minimum wage for like 60 years. 
  Fun fact: in 1909, WA made it illegal to tip. Repealed in 1913, but was still an indicator of WA's wage laws for the next hundred years. In 1966, WA abolished "tipped minimum wage" and just made straight wages the minimum. >
  
  Just from a consumer PoV I dislike it. Puts me in the position that if I get real shit service it is still expected to tip something (ignoring the paltry "normal" min-wage for now).
  Also I'm old and tips used to be seen as something extra. Now I'm surprised McGrease doesn't have a tip line on the receipt starting with a recommendation of 30%. Burned out by the whole practice so getting rid of the differing min-wage is step one to abolishing the practice.