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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

 

While this is not necessarily a minimum wage dedicated post, I think it certainly trends in that direction given the two articles I am highlighting this week.  For starters, a recent development at Target in regard to the entire compensation package offered to employees is noteworthy.  When taking into account a proposal to eliminate the minimum wage rate in California (proposed by a candidate in the recall election for Governor), there is a lot for readers to chew on here.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Target Offers to Pay 100% of College Tuition In Effort to Attract Workers

As CNBC reported earlier this week, Target is offering to pay 100% of college tuition for its workers (in approximately 250 degree programs) as the big box retailer competes with other employers to attract workers.  While other companies such as Chipotle, WalMart, and Chipotle have implemented similar college tuition offers to entice workers to come aboard, Target’s program is unique in so much that workers (at stores, distribution centers, and headquarters) would qualify on their first day on the job.  For those workers that do not choose to pursue one of the 250 degree programs Target has identified, Target will still pay up to $5,250 for non-master’s degrees and up to $10,000 for master’s degrees.  For those looking for a job (and interested in going to college), get your application into Target sooner rather than later.


Larry Elder, Candidate in California’s Recall Election, Calls for $0.00 Minimum Wage Rate

File this one under “sensationalist” headline...but maybe there is a bit more here once you dig in.  As readers might have heard, there is an upcoming recall election in California for Governor.  Many (and I do mean many) candidates are running to replace the current Governor, Gavin Newsom.  One candidate, Larry Elder, recently spoke out on the rising minimum wage rate in the state and suggested that the rate should actually be $0.00.  Yes, $0.00.  As The Sacramento Bee reported, Elder suggested that the current rate ($14/hour for employers with 26 or more employees and $13/hour for employers with fewer) stifles employers and imposes an unnecessary burden on them with rising labor costs.  Instead, Elder seems to believe that the free market would dictate wage rates, presumably with employers raising their wage rates to attract workers.  While that might be the case for some employers, I think it just as easy to envision a situation where employers in a given industry would intentionally suppress wages and keep pay at poverty levels (or below) since there would be no minimum wage rate.  Will Elder’s proposal work?  Maybe.  However, he first needs to win that recall election for this to be a realistic possibility.

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