Minimum wage is going up in Michigan and barely anyone will notice because people are doing quite well. But now is the time to raise it, when a recession hits there will be no will to change minimmum wage or increase unemployment benefits.

So the state houses also are raising minimum wage for tipped workers, and boy has that spurred a backlash. There's a Rightwing funded movement to protest this under the gusie of "saving tips." As if tips are effected in any way by the hourly wage the tipped person is making. And it's got some support from workers behind it. So you've got workers showing up in Lansing holding signs and protesting in order for them to make less money. That's how powerful the media machine we are up against is. You can practically get low wage earners to break out into chants of, "Pay me less money!!! I make too much money!!!" My argument is that this will actually increase tips. If bars and restaurants are paying their staff $12 an hour, they might add 50 cents a drink onto the price, or $1 an entree, high total bill leads to higher tips as people are tipping a % of the total. But they've convinced some workers that $12 an hour means tips are going to be eliminated entirely.

“Today, I am proud to sign commonsense legislation that extends unemployment benefits, improves job training for apprentices, and more,” said Governor Whitmer. “With winter just around corner, Michiganders are still juggling high costs and a competitive job market. These bills will put money back in people's pockets so they can keep a roof over their heads, pay the bills, get a good-paying job, and put food on the table. I’ll work with anyone to make sure Michigan is the first place folks think of to live, work, and raise their families.”

I can’t even tell you how huge this is for some people. I have only been laid off once in my life, 20 years ago now. That $362 a week was less than half of what I made and I got by for a few months while I found another job. But for a lot of people making a lot more than I was then, $362 a week is basically a sentence of financial ruin. After taxes it’s basically $1200 a month, for people making $3000 a month or more, that’s just not enough. And it has been stuck at $362 for 22 years.

Covid’s enhanced UE showed people that being out of work for a few or even several months doesn’t have to mean total financial ruin.

It’s still means tested, so people making $1500 a month aren’t going to get $614 a week, but raising the cap means a ton to most working families. Things are bound to get really tough in the next 4 years. Making it so working people have just a little more safety net is such a huge deal.