- Increasing the wages of my employees has helped our business and the local economy.
- Millions of Americans live in poverty while working full time.
- Congress needs to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour to ensure a rapid economic recovery.
- John Driscoll is the CEO of CareCentrix.
- This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author.
- Visit the Insider Business Department for more stories.
We can afford to increase the minimum wage. As part of its bold COVID-19 relief package, President Joe Biden has promised to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 per hour. The fraudulent approach to recovery put forward by the previous government failed our country and only led to further economic hardships for hard-working Americans. If implemented successfully, a federal minimum wage of $ 15 per hour will benefit not only workers but also businesses and the economy. Why am I so sure?
Because my company tried it. It worked.
Conservatives were quick to point out Biden’s proposal, arguing that a minimum wage of $ 15 would hurt small businesses and result in huge job losses, but these allegations are just untrue. At our company, CareCentrix, we froze the wages of the top 20 executives to increase our company’s minimum wage to $ 15 an hour seven years ago, and good things followed. Productivity increased and we halved employee turnover. As our frontline employees can finally focus on their jobs and not have to worry about their bills, profits have risen and everyone benefited in my company.
Is CareCentrix considered a small business? If so, let’s make it clear here. If not, we will need to add additional information to argue that small businesses will not be harmed by a wage increase
My business was thriving because we realized that our hard-working entry-level employees were paying wages that they increasingly could not afford basic living expenses, were morally and economically absurd.
The moral issue for raising the minimum wage is as clear as it is tragic. At CareCentrix, we learn that one of our teammates lives out of her car to save money, while another entry-level employee had to raise money from her peers to afford diapers. The more I learned about the harsh reality my workers faced with trying to care for their families and balance their expenses with the current minimum wage, the clearer it became that a change was in arrears.
Take these stories, multiply them by millions, and you will see a clear picture of the failure that people who pay a living wage have done and will continue to do in the social and economic structure of our country if it does not be addressed. It looks like the United States is heading for a K-shaped recovery from the economic crisis brought about by the pandemic, where wealthy executives like me are enjoying massive gains in wealth while low-wage workers lose their jobs and savings excessively. If low-wage workers do get a job, they often work for the federal minimum of $ 7.25 an hour, a rate that does not even cover rent in the United States, let alone the dignified life that essential workers earn. .
Some critics argue that raising the minimum wage during a pandemic exacerbates our existing economic problems. The failure to pay fair wages, however, was exactly the thing that put so many hard-working Americans on a cliff edge in the first place, which the COVID-19 crisis then overwhelmed them. Raising it now will literally save lives. Studies conducted before the pandemic show that raising the minimum wage by just $ 1 thousand suicides each year.
The moral issue is compelling, but the economic issue for raising wages is just as clear. Raising the minimum wage is one of the best macroeconomic tools we have to get the economy going at a time when we need it most.
Consumer spending accounts for as much as 70% of the growth in the US economy annually. The low-wage crisis existed before COVID-19, but the pandemic made it infinitely worse. We are now seeing worrying declines in consumer spending. A simple solution to the problem is to put more money in the pocket, and raising wages is the perfect way to do that. This will not only ensure that more than 40 million workers – a full quarter of the workforce and two thirds of the poor – have a little more money to spend; it would actually Increase growth of jobs for retail and small businesses.
Congress, and the public at large, should not use the critical critique of the minimum wage. My company (among others) proves the widespread benefits of raising wages to $ 15 an hour. Our success can be repeated nationwide and shows that increasing wages and business success are not competing interests. We can raise the minimum wage, increase workers and revive our economy in the process.
John Driscoll is the CEO of CareCentrix, a leading post-acute care company that has been selected by several organizations as a national leading place. John serves as chairman of the Waystar Corporation. He is also chairman of the Truman National Security Project and is a member of the Patriotic Millionaires.