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Many lawmakers, along with advocates for low-wage workers, are celebrating the first increase in the federal minimum wage in a decade. Yet many acknowledge that raising it from $5.15 an hour to $5.85 will provide only meager help for some of the lowest-paid workers.

About 1.7 million people made $5.15 per hour or less in 2006, according to the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The reality for a minimum-wage worker is that every penny makes a difference because low-wage workers make the choice between putting food on the table and paying for electricity or buying clothes for their children,” said Beth Shulman, a former vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

“Saying that, it’s clear going up to $5.85 is not enough to really make sure that people really can afford the things that all families need,” said Shulman, the author of “The Betrayal of Work: How Low-Wage Jobs Fail 30 Million Americans.”

Minimum-wage workers will get an additional 70-cent boost each summer for the next two years, ending in 2009 at $7.25 an hour. That comes to slightly more than $15,000 yearly before taxes for a 52-week work year.

Today, someone in such a job and earning $5.85 an hour would bring home $12,168 a year before taxes. The federal poverty level is $10,210 for singles, $13,690 for couples and $17,170 for families of three.

(Full Article)

I for one am glad to see the minimum wage go up across the board, it’s great that some relief will be coming to workers but here’s the thing that many people also seem to beforgetting. The cost of living is also increasing accordingly as well. Many local establishments, especially locally owned ones, have already increased the prices of their services to compensate the extra that has to go to payroll.

So is this really going to help anyone?

It’s summer time and in general people usually prefer to do their traveling in the summer. Maybe it’s because the kids are out of school, though with year round schooling now that may not be the case any longer, or maybe it’s the heat that people love. What ever the case most people find them selves planning vacations for the warm months of the year.

If you are planning a trip this summer, or perhaps looking to book ahead for a special event, you really ought to check out HotelReservations.com. They offer a large selection of vacation packages, deals, and promotions that will help the weary traveler cut back on expenses. I’m fairly familiar with the area I live in and which hotels and motels would be the cheapest but nicest to stay at. Whenever I browse these sort of sites I like to ’search’ my area and see if any of them come up, usually they don’t. HotelReservations.com managed to surprise me in this aspect, as they all appeared. Impressive.

The booking procedure is fairly straight forward and easy to go through, another big plus here, and there is even a toll free number to call and book with if you prefer to avoid online transactions.

Cheap Hotels are not always roach motels and HotelReservations.com does an excellent job of pointing out all of the suitable accommodations in a given area in a range of prices. You’re bound to find the right place to book at with them. Not searching for a motel or hotel to stay at, but rather an affordable rental or resort? That’s okay! Despite the misleading name Hotel Reservations also books for these accommodations as well. I don’t have any experiance with pricing for resorts and rentals so I cannot really say if Hotel Reservations saves you a lot of money and offers a good selection on packages and deals in those aspects but the process does seem fairly simple. If they treat all accommodations similarly than you can without a doubt expect excellent service in that regard as well.

Payday cash advance loans, that is something none of us ever want to have to consider applying for as it usually means that the person is in a bind or, worse yet, perhaps even living beyond their own means. Certainly it goes without mentioning that the interest rates at such places will try to eat you alive, but if you are in a bind than your best bet is to be informed. What are the places to borrow from, what are their rates, and what would be a good time to get them paid back and paid off. These are all things you need to look into before even considering taking out a loan, and SecureLoanConsolidation.com can help you there.

There site, while a little tricky to navigate with the large banners in the content area, aims to provide local information for viewers. Find lenders in your area via their local search by state and then research the terms offered by each. It’s the smart thing to do.