What if gas prices increase beyond the minimum wage?
By Sinclere Lee
WASHINGTON (BNW) Gas prices will never be the same again… in fact, by the end of the year we may see $5.00 a gallon gas. You can blame Stupid Bush and the oil speculators on Wall Street for the increase price in gas. The minimum wage is at a $5.25 rate are for companies w/less than $625,000 gross annual volume of sales or business, and Business with more than $625,000 gross annual volume of sales or business will have a minimum wage rate of $6.15.
Consider this; what if the price of gas increases beyond the minimum wage? Surly, the peasants will be at the palace grates looking for economic justice.
The previous federal minimum wage:
$5.15
New Federal Minimum Wage:
$5.85 - July 24th, 2007
$6.55 - July 24th, 2008
$7.25 - July 24th, 2009
Note: The rates above are for general informational purposes only and should not be used as legal or professional advice. You can contact your local state agency for more information regarding your State Minimum Wage.
Minimum wage is the lowest hourly wage allowed by federal and state labor laws. It generally applies to unskilled or semi-skilled laborers working in service industries or manufacturing plants. Certain occupations such as agricultural workers are usually exempt from minimum wage requirements, as are certain service workers who receive tips or other compensation equal to the minimum wage.
In the United States, Congress must approve any adjustments to the federal minimum wage law currently in effect. Because of an act passed under the Clinton administration, individual states now have the right to raise their own minimum wage rates above the current federal requirement.
The average price of a gallon of gas in western Pennsylvania rose 12 cents in the past week, AAA said Wednesday, and stands at nearly $3.95.
Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of unleaded, self-serve gas has risen 14 cents in the past week to nearly $3.94, AAA said.
AAA says gas prices are up more than 9 percent from a month ago and more than 23 percent higher than year-ago levels. The average price for gas has passed the $4 a gallon mark in 11 states, as well as in Washington, D.C.
The most expensive state for buying gas is Connecticut, where a gallon of regular unleaded costs an average of $4.215, according to AAA.
The least expensive state for purchasing gas is Missouri, where a gallon costs $3.756 on average. Oil prices moved higher Wednesday despite a stronger dollar and signs that U.S. demand for oil products is waning in light of a slumping economy and record prices.
Oil fell nearly $3 earlier in the day, but rebounded after Morgan Stanley's co-head of global economics, Richard Berner, said crude prices could easily reach $150 a barrel this year, and that high prices will not be enough to curb demand in developing countries.
"It seems that these big banks are driving oil prices, where instead it used to be the other way around," said Alaron Trading senior market analyst Phil Flynn.
As the U.S. economy has deteriorated in the past six months, many investors have engaged in speculative trading of commodities such as oil to serve as a hedge against a generally weakened dollar. Banks' predictions of rising prices only gives credence to oil traders that their investment will deliver a strong return.
Light, sweet crude oil for July delivery rose $2.18 to settle at $131.03 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $3.34 Tuesday, and was about $4 off its all-time high of $135.09 a barrel, which it hit last Thursday.