(10/02/06) BAYONNE ? The minimum wage in New Jersey rose $1 Monday to $7.15 per hour, but there?s still plenty of complaints to go around.
Business owners say the wage hike is just another cash-related problem they must deal with in New Jersey. According to storeowners, high taxes combined with the wage hike is likely to create serious cash crunches in the future. Although workers stand to benefit from the pay increase, they say $7.15 is still not enough to live in the Garden State.
A representative of the New Jersey Anti-Poverty Network says a year?s pay on minimum wage, about $14,800, is still below the federal poverty line. Anti-Poverty Network officials say the real cost of living for a family of three is more than $44,000.