UPI, March 13, 2013

... Last month, a Walmart email asked "Where have all the customers gone and where's their money?" Business analysts said the stagnant sales might be due to the end of the payroll tax holiday that ended Jan. 1. The federal tax break was designed to boost consumer spending and added about $19 a week to many paychecks during the last two years.

While Costco's discount peers Target Corp., Sam's Club and Walmart Stores logged weaker sales in February, Costco continued to generate consistent, strong growth across all general merchandise categories, The Wall...

By Becca Heller
Maryland Reporter, March 10 2013

An initiative to raise minimum wage to $10 an hour in two years promises to be among the most controversial economic issues debated at the Maryland General Assembly this year. … 

Still, proponents of the bill remain steadfast in their belief that this hike in wages would not only be the fair thing to do for low-income workers, but also act as a stimulant to Maryland’s still struggling economy.

“Raising the minimum wage will help small businesses like my members by putting more money in the pockets...

By Michael Kling
MoneyNews, March 8, 2013 

... “At Costco, we know that paying employees good wages makes good sense for business,” Jelinek said in a press release from Business for a Fair Minimum Wage. “We pay a starting hourly wage of $11.50 in all states where we do business, and we are still able to keep our overhead costs low.” 

The membership-based retailer believes it succeeds by attracting and retaining good employees, he noted. That strategy boosts profits in the long run by decreasing turnover and improving employee productivity. 

A bill before Congress would...

This Week From the Hill By Allie Morris and Simone Pathe
PBS NewsHour, March 8, 2013 

$10.10 is the new $7.25. At least that's what Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., are hoping. At a packed press conference in the Dirksen Senate offices Tuesday, the pair proposed legislation that would raise the federal minimum wage up to $10.10 an hour, from the current minimum of $7.25, in three 95-cent increments. ...

Harkin said that a higher minimum wage will benefit the economy by putting more money in consumers' pockets. "With an increase...

HR Policy, March 8, 2013

This week, Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) introduced legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 over three years, over a dollar higher than proposed by President Obama.  As with the President's proposal, the bill (S. 460/H.R. 1010) would also index later increases to inflation. At a press conference, Sen. Harkin said the current $7.25 per hour "has become a poverty wage" and that it is "basic economics" that paying more would increase both spending and demand. U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce CEO...

Op-Ed By Guido H. Stempel III
Athens Ohio Today, March 8, 2013

President Obama set off a dialogue about the minimum wage when he suggested in his State of the Union message that it should be raised to $9 an hour.

We immediately began hearing from those who said this would increase unemployment and those who said analysis of what happened in the past when the minimum wage was raised showed that unemployment did not increase. Then a group of liberals suggested it would be $10 an hour.

The best word, but undoubtedly not the...

MSNBC NewsNation with Tamron Hall, March 08, 2013

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/51105128

Costco CEO Craig Jelinek is adding his voice to the calls for raising the nation’s minimum wage. Margot Dorfman talks to Tamron Hall about what this means for the minimum wage movement, as well as the new Democratic bill that would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10/hour.

TH: welcome back. the ceo of one of the country's biggest retailers costco is joining president obama calling for an increase in the minimum wage. costco 's ceo says instead of minimizing wages, it is profitable in...

By Becca Heller
Baltimore Post Examiner, March 8, 2013

A bill to raise Maryland’s minimum wage to $10 an hour drew 46 witnesses Thursday to a Senate hearing on the divisive issue. ...

Supporters of the bill argue that the minimum wage hike would create an upturn in the economy by putting money into the pockets of consumers.

“Our members support raising minimum wage because it addresses one of the biggest problems that we see facing the economy and that’s weak demand,” said Bryan McGannon of the American Sustainable Business Council.

Read more

Becca@MarylandReporter.com

By Alex Jackson
Capital Gazette, March 7, 2013

For Natalie Uribe, a 16-year-old Glen Burnie resident, a little hike to the minimum wage could do a lot.

Uribe was one of many workers who came to Annapolis as the minimum wage war raged on Thursday. After a similar House hearing in February, the Senate Finance Committee heard testimony on legislation that would gradually boost the the state's minimum wage to $10 by 2015. ...

But for Uribe, who works for the minimum wage, the bill would help her family pay their taxes and other important...

The Ed Show, MSNBC, March 7, 2013
Text by Ed Resnikoff

WATCH ED SHOW VIDEO 

At least one CEO at a big retail company wants to see the minimum wage increased. In fact, he’d like the minimum wage to go even higher than President Obama has proposed.

Costco CEO Craig Jelinek said on Tuesday that he supports increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour and indexing it to inflation. ...

The discount retailer CEO said in a statement that his company pays a starting wage of $11.50 across the country and is “still able to...

Mark Reardon Show, CBS KMOX News Radio, March 7, 2013

The owner of Vintage Vinyl is Lew Prince. He says he backs an increase in the minimum wage.

Listen to show

Washington Business Journal, March 7, 2013

Costco Wholesale Corp. CEO Craig Jelinek and U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce CEO Margot Dorfman are urging the General Assembly to raise Maryland's minimum wage, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Lawmakers are considering a proposal to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10 an hour. Jelinek of Costco in written testimony said his company pays a starting wage of $11.50, adding, "we know it's a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment and loyalty."

Read more

Copyright 2013...

By Associated Press, March 7, 2013

Maryland’s minimum wage earners say they need a raise and some state lawmakers agree.

A bill that would increase the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $10 by 2015 was taken up Thursday by the Senate Finance Committee.

“When you increase wages for nearly 500,000 Marylanders, we are putting cash in their pockets,” [state Sen. Robert] Garagiola said. “They’re not likely to spend that out of state on a boat. They are more likely to buy basic needs to live, and those basic needs will be bought in Maryland. Some...

Washington Sun, March 7, 2013

At a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, business owners, economists, low wage workers and other supporters testified in favor of increasing Maryland’s minimum wage.  At the same time, the Raise Maryland campaign announced new support from Costco, the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce and more than 70 Maryland businesses, who signed onto a letter of support organized by Maryland Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.

“At Costco, we know that paying employees good wages makes good sense for business,” said Craig Jelinek, Costco’s President and CEO in a statement...

By Eileen Ambrose
The Baltimore Sun, March 6, 2013

Costco and the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce are among more than 70 businesses and groups that support raising the minimum wage in Maryland, according Raise Maryland, a group advocating for a higher wage.

"We pay a starting hourly wage of $11.50 in all states where we do business, and we are still able to keep our overhead costs low," Craig Jelinek, Costco's president and CEO, said in a statement. "Instead of minimizing wages, we know it's a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize...