Memphis, Shelby county leaders debate linking $17/hour minimum wage to PILOTs

[TexasTowelie]

Some Memphis City Council members and Shelby County commissioners are poised to propose a minimum wage for companies that get payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) incentives.

Proposals are still general so far and not on the agenda of either body yet. But they would generally do away with a 75% property tax abatement no matter what the pay is, as long as it isn’t below an average of $13 an hour with benefits.

That current 75% abatement standard used by EDGE — Economic Development Growth Engine of Memphis and Shelby County — to award PILOTs would be replaced with a sliding scale that would lower the percentage of the abatement as the percentage of jobs created or retained below a higher wage goes up.

The proposals emerged Thursday, April 15, at the second of two joint meetings by the council and commission on changing the terms of economic development incentives.

Read more: https://dailymemphian.com/section/business/article/21352/proposal-for-17-an-hour-minimum-for-maximum-pilot

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. I have long since noticed that those who think minimum wage doesn't need raising

no matter what year we're talking about, do not themselves work for minimum wage. And most of them never have.

My very first job out of high school in 1965 was as a nurse's aide, a sub-minimum wage job. Minimum was then $1.25/hour. I was making $1.10/hour. At least I was still living at home and saving most of that money to pay for college. Unlike some of the women I worked with who were the main wage earner in their family.

My next job was a regular minimum wage job, and things got vastly better for me when in 1967 it went to $1.40/hour, and a year later to $1.60/hour. I could afford to move out on my own. It was still a very tight budget, but I could manage.

After that I had jobs that paid better than minimum. So yeah, when I hear people think that the minimum wage doesn't need to be raise, I'm enraged. Just try living on it for six months.