Bank to pay everyone at least a 'living wage' http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/29/smallbusiness/living-wage/ Under that policy, no one will be paid less than $30,000 a year, or the hourly equivalent for part-time workers. That means the base pay at the bank will be roughly $14.40 an hour, or nearly double the Florida state minimum wage of $7.93. "We don't believe in low wages. We don't need them to make money," Kenneth LaRoe, the bank's founder and CEO, told CNNMoney. His payroll costs will go up, but not by much. LaRoe estimates initially it will cost the bank an additional $16,000 and then about $30,000 by the end of the year. That's partly because he expects that employees who already make a little more than $30,000 will get larger-than-usual raises during their year-end reviews. Imitation is sincerest form of flattery: LaRoe's living wage program is identical to one implemented this past spring by C1 Bank (BNK), another Florida-based business. In arriving at $30,000 for their living-wage base, First Green and C1 Bank relied in part on a calculator created by Amy Glasmeier, a professor of economic geography at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The MIT calculator estimates the minimum needed to cover basic costs such as housing, food, childcare, transportation, medical care and taxes, not including potential government assistance. ******************************************** Not sure where I fall in the debate on the exact number where minimum wage should be in the 2010's. I think it should be higher than it is but its exact level I cant quite say on way or the other. But I do know I like to see people earn a wage that will get them by, and im not going to put up a fuss if a business is doing it on its account. Im glad for their workers to be making more for what they do regardless of circumstance especially if its not hurting the business they work for. I hope as they did in regards to a competing bank, other companies see the benefit and take steps to increase wages across the board, especially if they are profitable enough to follow the statement above """ "We don't believe in low wages. We don't need them to make money," """
