62 Comments on “Minimum wage in Puerto Rico will be lowered to $4.25 per hour”

1. Pingback: Minimum wage in Puerto Rico will be lowered to $4.25 per hour | LowlySacker

2. Pingback: GOP Bill Would Cut Minimum Wage to $4.25 for Many in Puerto Rico | Griffin

3. “Economics In One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt [FREE PDF] –> https://mises.org/files/henry-hazlitt-economics-one-lessonpdf/download?token=xBmgeDG7

   I cannot recommend ^^^this book^^^ enough to proponents of the minimum wage. What do they tell us on the first day of economics class? “Price fixing causes market inefficiencies.” The market exists to do what? Facilitate exchange so that we can all trade what we have for what we want and need. In the case of labor, we have skills, time, and energy which we trade with entrepreneurs for money to buy things we want but can’t reasonably make ourselves. Fixing the price of labor at all (minimum wage… or maximum for that matter) causes inefficiency in the labor market. Inefficiency in this case means 1) unemployment for people whose labor is not economically worth greater than or equal to the fixed price, and 2) artificial pressure on industries with jobs valued below the minimum to automate those tasks. Unemployment, in socialist countries, means decreased tax plunder (excuse me, “revenue”) and increased welfare payouts, which further increases whatever deficit the socialist government is inevitably running at. But more importantly it means individuals and families facing hard times because a politician wanted to play God and force people down a channel of behavior they would not naturally go. Now, whether the Republican politicians – or any politicians for that matter – value the everyday Puerto Rican’s interests as their own is dubious at best. But, economics is economics, and lowering the minimum wage *should* (all things being held equal) provide discounted employment opportunities for people with lesser skill sets and incentivize entrepreneurs to create jobs on the island. Age discrimination on this or any law is insanity, of course, because justice is blind.

   Thanks for the article!

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4. Pingback: Capitalism: Death Grip on Puerto Rico – Modern Marxism

5. If minimum wage is lowered for younger people, employers will fire older people and make room for less paid younger people. Employers are greedy. They exploit poor people already as it is. Instead of finding a way to manufacture locally of name brands to create jobs, they instead ship everything as finished goods that have fuel costs in it. Puerto Ricans are taxed so much. Then you lower their buying power. What if they are already fathers and mothers? What an insult to a mostly educated island. Not enough jobs and business should not be paying a lower wage as a remedy. The solution is to manufacture locally. Give tax exempt privileges to investing companies creating jobs. Greed of the rich is also a problem because the profit margin they expect. They should also regulate profit margin. This will not be done because the rich are protected at all levels

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6. Pingback: Puerto Rico gets a Financial Control Board | WAR AGAINST ALL PUERTO RICANS

7. Is only for the first four months, $4.25, after that, the new hires are getting the minimum wage, $7.25

   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

   But once they leave that job (ie, to return to school in September, after working 3-4 months in the summer) they then start at $4.25 ALL OVER AGAIN, on their NEXT job.

   College students will thus be working for peanuts, while piling up massive student debt.

   This will DISCOURAGE young students from going to college (or finishing it) and ENCOURAGE the development of a permanent, lesser-educated, lower wage underclass throughout Puerto Rico.

   THAT is a very serious problem.

   –Nelson Denis

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8. Pingback: Why is Obama Ignoring Pleas to Release Political Prisoner Oscar López Rivera?

9. Billionaires want to buy PR for pennies on the dollar.

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10. Puerto Rico has a minimum wage higher than Japan or South Korea without having the level of industrialization or productive workforce of these countries? It is that high minimum wage (along with a lot of other historical factors) that is killing your economy.

    Yes, lowering it will suck.

    But you know what will suck more? A complete hollowing up of the island with a massive population flight and brain drain, which is what is about to happen.

    At this point you need to ask yourself not whether the whole situation is fair or who’s fault is it? You need to ask yourself, what do we do realistically? Without a massive federal subsidy, ask yourselves, how can your poor economy can sustain a minimum higher than Korea’s or Japan’s?

    Sentimentality is great, but it doesn’t replace realism.

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11. They are making innocent citizens pay back the mismanaged and stolen money.

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12. I want to cry for my people. Why is it that we are given American status so that we have to pay taxes, but then are treated like bottom level slaves when it comes to giving us fair protection under the law?

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13. I freaking hate what my freaking is doing all over the world!!!!

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14. Why? it makes no logical sense.

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15. Fuck this congressman, everyone in here has turn into faggets, fuck this bullshit, they doing the same thing England did to them, they uprising how come we don’t do the same and fight them, I don’t give a fuck about how many soldier they have how many equipment they have they will always have their weak spot, I’m furious , about what I just read all ya talking nonsense instead of doing something remember back in the days a group called Los macheteros they did something for all of us, but the ppd group and the u.s.a government try to shut it down be can rise up again for albizu campos and all my brothers and sisters that about to suffer because of the government of Puerto Rico we need to stop this understand stop this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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16. Are these people crazy? A gallon of milk cost $6.something. the water lights are very high. The hospitals and doctors (thats if you find a good doctor and a hospital) are high in prices and the services are not good at all. WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO THE POOR PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO THAT ARE WILLING TO WORK HARD IN WHATEVER THEY CAN FIND? ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE THEM LEAVE THEIR HOMES THEIR ISLAND? AGAIN I ASK ARE YOU CRAZY? WHY NOT LOWER THE PAY TO ALL THE RICH AND THE GOVERNMENT THAT ARE THERE ONLY TO STEAL AND NOT HELP THE PUERTORICAN CITIZENS! GOD HELP MY ISLAND HELP MY PEOPLE. ARE YOU CRAZY YOU TRY LIVING WITH THAT AMOUNT TRY PAYING ALL OF OUR BILLS TRY TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE FOR YOUR FAMILY WITH THAT AMOUNT YOU TRY GOING TO THE DOCTOR OR BUYING YOUR MEDICINE WITH THAT AMOUNT. ARE YOU CRAZY? I GUESS YOU ARE!!!!!!

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17. What can we do to improve the conditions in Puerto Rico and avoid things like this from happening? What organizations need help, etc? I am in the Chicago area but travel to Puerto Rico occasionally. I am half Puerto Rican.

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18. this is crazy lets purge.

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19. this is crazy getting less money,

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20. Funny how no one mentions the underground economy of PR. Here in PR there is a price lower for everything in cash. No taxes paid on the cash. I hate taxes, but I pay mine! Thousands of people are already working for $4.50 an hour. This is a cultural tradition that must change!

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21. To all of you saying vote bernie at the end of the day he can propose all he wants but being the 88 percent of Congress is republican everything will be shut down it will not make a difference. Many of you voted Obama in the past because of his promises that he brought to the table and Congress voted no and then you want to blame him for problems call him a liar. The president is not as important as who’s in Congress . I vote bernie but I am realistic

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22. I’m not Puerto Rican but know a lot about Puerto Rico past history, and one thing for sure I will say is been a big mistake; if Puerto Rico was state of the main land then the outcome of the economic problem would be a more positive one by now.

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23. It is past time for heads to roll. A violent revolution is called for. Violence will be the only thing they will understand. They are committing violence against their people. That is the only thing they will understand

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24. A seguir diendose….la deuda no es del pueblo….subir el minimo es lo que necesitamos…el congresso sabe en verdad lo que eats pasando

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25. We all need to stop blaming and pointing fingers and DO SOMETHING to save the island. If nothing is done Puerto Rico will become “INSTINCT. Rise up and protest, make noise, make your voices heard!!!! So that when the Puerto Rican parade comes and you on 5th ave. With your Puerto Rican flag, you have the honor to say “I took part in the resolution to save my island. I am Italian/Puerto Rican and I will be damned if I am not going to fight for the island.

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26. I just came from there. Things cost a bit more than in states and tax is about 11%. Even 7.25 is not nearly enough. Make it $15 and people will spend more and pay more 11% sales tax.

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27. This will provoke, the older employee, to loose there job’s

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28. Calm down. It’s a bill introduced by a single Congressman (Sean Duffy) without a single cosponsor. It will never be heard in committee. This happens all the time. Notice it’s bill 4900–how many of the previous 4899 became law?

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29. You can not let this happen. Take to the streets and fight this injustice. You did not create this, crooked politicians did and do not let them put this on the backs of the people of Puerto Rico. Bernie Sanders wants to fight the banks and corporations that are bleeding this and our country dry. We must all stand together for the good of all people.

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30. Uncle Sam is hedge-fund owner!

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31. I don’t understand are we not supposed to to move forward in life ? And if so…..What is this.. really how much longer and when will they let our beautiful inland grow it self .

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32. WE need to vote for Bernie…

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33. The Regressives show again that they really don’t like the people that are not exactly like them!
    This display of stupidity leads thinking people to wonder if the insane are running the House.
    This what happens when good people don’t vote.

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34. My sympathy goes out to the people of Puerto Rico. The minimum wage there should be raised, not lowered. The U.S. government is owned by the wealthy and corporations. The U.S. is not a democratic republic, it is a totalitarian oligarchy.

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35. How about lowing the presidents wage or all those who work for the dam puerto rican government to see how they will react!!!!!

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36. Crazy how people easily complain against the US when the PR government system were the ones who got us all in this predicament. Many PR citizens are focusing on the wrong enemy here. PR citizens had more than enough opportunities to stand up against the government. Everyone lives with indifference thinking nothing was going to happen. Bottom line is,… PR owes way too much money.

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37. Vote for Bernie. He’ll turn things around!!

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38. Can you say protest ???

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39. Puertoricans need to stand together and stop being ignorant !!!!! and fight for their rights !!!!!! Please Wake up .

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40. THIS IS A DARN SHAME… A LIST OF ALL THOSE WHO APPROVED THIS SHOULD BE LISTED!!!!!!

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41. Que cojones!!! Malditos imperialistas y su fukin $$$. Cuanti tiempo mas vms a aguantar abusos d los q se adueńaron d nosotros sean españoles holandeses o los yankis.
    Mira a ver si alguno d ellos se tira a tbjr x $4.25/hr

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42. The shame that those running for office stop by the island and promise so much lies so one of them could become the next president by winning the Puertorican voters residing in the United States. It is also a shame for President Obama who came to the island making promises. eating the mofongo, dancing for nothing just to seduce everyone in the island so he could win again then then nothing. Puerto Rico deserves better than that. I am not instigating any party here because both parties are whores. Time to go solo. Fuck it.,

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43. What a insult….

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44. MI GENTE

    Esa ley existe desde el 1996, no estan cambiando el minimo. Informense bien.

    PEOPLE

    That law (the $4.25) has been in effect since August 1996, No one is changing or proposing to change the minimum.

    You can read the current law here

    http://1.usa.gov/1XACK7Y

    Here’s the amendment that was approved back then:

    Quote:
    “1938 (29 U.S.C. 206) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    “(g)(1) In lieu of the rate prescribed by subsection (a)(1), any
    employer may pay any employee of such employer, during the first 90
    consecutive calendar days after such employee is initially
    employed by such employer, a wage which is not less than $4.25 an hour.
    “(2) No employer may take any action to displace employees
    (including partial displacements such as reduction in hours, wages, or
    employment benefits) for purposes of hiring individuals at the wage
    authorized in paragraph (1).
    “(3) Any employer who violates this subsection shall be considered
    to have violated section 15(a)(3).
    “(4) This subsection shall only apply to an employee who has not
    attained the age of 20 years.”.

    APPROVED AUGUST 20, 1996.”

    The purpose of this proposed bill is actually:

    “To establish an Oversight Board to assist the Government of Puerto Rico, including instrumentalities, in managing its public finances, and for other purposes.”

    and the amendment that is pertinent to the 206(g) only adds the Oversight Board to the mix, so… same wage, not much difference.

    _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Juan,

    THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO READ THE LAWS CLOSELY !

    Look at the very last sub-section which YOU, YOURSELF included in your note above:

    “(4) This subsection shall only apply to an employee who has not
    attained the age of 20 years.”

    Juan…they CHANGED that subsection, by raising the number 20 to 25. So previously, the lower-tier $4.25 wage applied to people up to age 19.

    But NOW it will also apply to people aged 20-24.

    Please READ THE LAWS.

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45. Independence and the abolishment of the Jone’s Act. Enough is enough.

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46. Could you please list the sponsors and voters in favor of this horrible legislation?

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47. Time for Puerto Rico to become independent or America’s greedy one percent. It is that or become slaves to them.

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48. This admittedly outrageous bill was introduced by Representative Sean Duffy from Wisconsin (7th district), but it has a long, long way to go before it can become law – if it ever does. The original bill has been referred to three committees in the House. It would need to get out of committee to the House floor and pass a vote there (I suspect it might) and then go to the Senate and pass a vote there (I suspect it will not). If both houses of congress approve identical bills (example: Senate might strike the wage clause), that must go to the President for signature. The point is to make a fuss to be sure that such nonsense never does become law. (You can track the progress of bills in the House and Senate by using the Library of Congress Thomas Website.)

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Bob,

    This was an excellent comment. I hope our readers take note of this, and track the bill progress through the Thomas site.

    Thank you,
    Nelson Denis

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49. It does NOT call for the reduction to $4.25 an hour. It clearly states that THE GOVERNOR of Puerto Rico, “subject to the approval of the Financial Oversight and Management Board” can decrease the minimum wage if he so dictates but to NO LESS than $4.25 per hour and that this measure can only be used for a maximum of five years. I saw absolutely nothing about ages in there. What this pretty much means is that if the governor wanted to save money to get Puerto Rico out of the mess it is in, that he is allowed to circumvent the United States minimum wage for a maximum of five years in order to clean house.Also, in reading between the lines, the people I see who will be getting screwed are government workers,not civilians.The biggest cash outlay this govt has is in paying it’s employees such as teachers, police etc. I can see the folks in government administrative jobs getting hit the hardest. It seems the way this is written that the gov can pick and choose who gets their salaries cut and that it is not an island wide cut. And again, the cuts have to be approved by the board first. So,it’s not the United States that will be ding the cutting, if any. It would be our Governor that would be doing the cuts. Who knows,he may have floated this to Congress…something he wanted to do but could not because of federal laws. You need to read things before going off on things you do not understand. READ IT!!!!!!!_______________________________________________________________________________________________
    Koa,

    I am sorry but…apparently you did not read the entirety of the legislation as discussed in this article.

    If you read the underlying labor law reference, for which I provided the US Code citation, you will see that the $4.25 is being statutorily enacted without gubernatorial discretion.

    It is okay that you misunderstood this.

    That is precisely the point I made in the article…that a complete understanding requires a secondary review of the US Code.

    As you can well imagine, this “cloud of confusion” is not accidental. That too, is discussed in the article. The language is sufficiently obfuscatory that it confused even you, a good-faith reader, who is paying close attention. To enhance the confusion, they labeled it “First Minimum Wage in Puerto Rico.” This is technically correct insofar as it applies to first-time entrants into the labor force. But to the general reader, or to readers on the mainland (many of whom are ill-informed), this may create the impression that this wonderful PROMESA is creating the “First-ever” minimum wage in Puerto Rico.

    In any event, please read the underlying legislation and you’ll get a better understanding.
    Thank you for your comment.

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50. Isn’t this discrimination because of age? It is so unbelievable! Why would a young American citizen working in Puerto Rico deserve less payment than one living in mainland USA? Add to that the fact that thousands of young people aged 19-24 in Puerto Rico have children!!!! How does one pay rent, car, food, medicines, water, electricity with $4.24 ah hour? Shame on Republicans, Shame on Congress….

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51. I suggest that all 200,000 people who have school loans to refuse to pay those loans and in turn boycott all businesses that agree with an obvious racist and age discriminate law.

    Spain went on a hundred day strike shutting down the entire country to force the government to pull out of America’s war on terrorism.

    It’s obvious to me that Americans billionaires should be barred from Puerto Rico from creating a slave state.

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52. I am speechless!

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53. Well the real truth is that many people are already working for only $5 an hour under the table from private establishments. So this is really no big deal.

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54. Are you starting a petition to stop this bill??? If yes where do l sign?

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55. Dios mio yo no puedo creer esto!!!!!!!!!!!!

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56. I’m sorry Mi gente,America has turned on you.

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57. another slap in our face as a nation. Why not face the fact that it still wont prevent our so called leaders from throwing around money, having too many representatives and bureaucrats doing nothing but enjoying huge salaries while not doing their jobs as they were elected to do?,. What a cowardly meausre.

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58. thats why america is hated all over the world it’s greed is unbeliveable

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59. Tengo Videos de Puerto Rico cada pueblo – Buscame en Youtube https://m.youtube.com/user/HolaSoyLouis

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60. This would be an outrage of epic proportions, to lower the minimum wage to this level, no one can live on this. Puerto Rico has many outrages prices on almost everything we buy. You might just loose thousands of more Puerto Ricans to other Countries including the USA.

    I hope this mandate does not pass.

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61. Hello admin:

    What is the date of this article? Thank you.
    _________________________________________________

    –It was published today, April 15.

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62. Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
    “PROMESA”?? …. and the USA wants to help PR & their people?? California and New York just got theirs increased to $15.00!!
    “A new congressional bill, HR 4900, calls for the reduction of the minimum wage in Puerto Rico from $7.25 an hour, to $4.25 an hour. The bill is also creates a Financial Control Board to make sure that this new minimum wage law is enforced. With a perverse sense of humor, the US congress titled this bill as “PROMESA for Puerto Rico.”
    …. Bull-puckey!!

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