MassBudget: A breakdown of who would be affected by a minimum wage increase - by region and demographics

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. Increasing the Minimum Wage: Who's Affected  Raising the minimum wage would increase the wages of hundreds of thousands of people across the Commonwealth. Our new factsheet and interactive tool help provide a more complete picture of who would be affected. Using the new interactive tool allows you to see that raising the minimum wage to $11 by 2016 would affect roughly 589,000 people. What is more, it shows a detailed breakdown by race, gender, income, education, and more--including the fact that 88% of the people affected would be 20 years old or older.   Separately, our updated report on The Regional Impact of a Minimum Wage Increase looks at how a minimum wage increase would affect people in different areas of the state. We find that substantial numbers of people in every region of the state would see their wages rise, and the effect would be particularly widespread in low-income communities. Try OUR INTERACTIVE TOOL Read THE REGIONAL IMPACT OF A MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE See ALL OF OUR WORK ON THE MINIMUM WAGE  The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

In the News: Thayer collection, casino voted down, office hours

Helping Hands: Thayer students collect items for the Food Pantry

Fifth-graders at Franklin's Thayer Elementary School collect donations for the Franklin Food Pantry.

Milford casino opponents cheer vote

Friends and neighbors cried, hugged and jumped up and down Tuesday night at the anti-casino rally as, precinct by precinct, they realized they had brought down casino developers.

U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III to hold office hours in area towns

U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III will hold office hours Saturday, Nov. 23, in Franklin and Medway.

Franklin Sculpture Park - The Bear! (video)

A quick 4 minute walk through to highlight the newest piece added to the Sculpture Park. Hopefully this will be enough of a tease to get you out to the park to enjoy all the pieces.





You can contribute to the Sculpture Park  through the Franklin Art Center website
http://franklinartcenter.com/park.html


Additional posts watching the development of the Sculpture Park can be viewed here

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/11/sculpture-park-november-update-video.html

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/franklin-sculpture-park-updated-video.html

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/10/sculpture-park-update.html

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/09/a-walk-through-sculpture-park.html

Franklin Interfaith Council Service - Nov 24, 7:00 PM

The Interfaith Council of Franklin will be celebrating with our annual Thanksgiving Interfaith service - this Sunday - November 24th , 7pm.  St. John's ( 237 Pleasant St ) will be hosting the service - and all houses of worship that are members of the council will be participating.  There will be music, readings, prayers - with songs by our Interfaith Choir - all within an interfaith framework.   People from all walks of life - people of faith and those with no faith affiliations are invited and welcome to share an hour or so of Thanksgiving with us.  Plenty of free parking and refreshments will be served afterwards.  Hope to see you there!

MassBudget: Useful resources on the state's minimum wage

MassBudget    Information.    Participation.  Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center    Democracy. The Minimum Wage: Useful Resources  A strong minimum wage helps workers support their families, and it can also bolster our economy by increasing the amount workers have to spend at local businesses. As part of an ongoing statewide discussion about whether to adjust the state's minimum wage--which has fallen 25% since 1968--the state Senate will soon begin debating a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $11 over three years. "While our economy has become increasingly productive, wages for middle and low income workers have been stagnant and the value of the minimum wage has declined," said Noah Berger, President of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. "Because the value of the minimum wage hasn't kept pace with inflation, a full-time minimum wage worker now makes $5,000 a year less than in 1968--even though our economy is much more productive. When too many of our working people don't make enough to pay for basic necessities, it hurts those workers and their families--and the reduced demand for goods and services harms local businesses as well." MassBudget's work on the minimum wage provides information about the Value of the Minimum Wage in Massachusetts, Who is Affected by the Minimum Wage, and The Minimum Wage and Job Creation.  Today, we are releasing a new resource, "The Minimum Wage for Tipped Workers," which briefly describes how the minimum wage works for workers who regularly earn tips, like waiters and hairdressers. The $2.63 an hour that employers are required to pay these workers hasn't changed since 1999--and since 1968 the inflation adjusted value of the tipped minimum wage has fallen 58 percent. While tipped workers are required to get the full minimum wage when tips are included, recent studies have found that states with a low "tipped minimum wage" tend to have higher poverty rates for tipped workers.       See ALL OF OUR MINIMUM WAGE RESOURCES         The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 15 Court Square | Suite 700 | Boston | MA | 02108

In the News: suspicious message

Many commuter train riders got a late start to their Monday.

Passengers evacuated after suspicious message found on train

Authorities ordered a commuter train evacuated Monday morning after an MBTA crewmember saw a suspicious graffiti message scrawled onto the side of the train.

Parmenter - 2 views

The Parmenter sign is different depending upon how you approach it. Heading towards i495 you see

Parmenter sign - west bound

Heading towards Four Corners you see

Parmenter sign - east bound