The GFC may still be on and the unemployment rate in the US set to rise over the next months, but last Friday the minimum hourly rate in America rose from US$6.75 to US$7.50. Now, there are many people around the world who work for less than that hourly rate for a whole month, but $7.50 an hour in supposedly the world's richest country?
It's worse if you are a waiter or waitress. The hourly rate is US$2.30, but if tips don't make the worker get to the minimum hourly rate, then the employer has to make up the difference. No wonder waitstaff are keen to please and employers have them do so.
Meanwhile, whilst the US is presently engaged in a heated debate about health insurance, a study recently concluded that 20% of Medicare patients return to hospital within a month of their initial discharge - at a cost of US$17 billion per annum.
It's worse if you are a waiter or waitress. The hourly rate is US$2.30, but if tips don't make the worker get to the minimum hourly rate, then the employer has to make up the difference. No wonder waitstaff are keen to please and employers have them do so.
Meanwhile, whilst the US is presently engaged in a heated debate about health insurance, a study recently concluded that 20% of Medicare patients return to hospital within a month of their initial discharge - at a cost of US$17 billion per annum.
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