$15 Min Wage - Effect on RNs

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$15 Minimum Wage increases are expected to hit our nation, coast to coast, in the near future. I am concerned that my financial sacrifices & years of educational investments to become a nurse will be highly devalued once minimum wages are doubled around the country.

I am predicting that the higher $15 minimum wages will cause costs of everything else to increase (food, rent, services). Salary earners (RNs) making above minimum wage, will not get raises, yet our cost of living will dramatically increase (eventually by double in most cases, in order to offset the higher cost of minimum wage employees). This all will be fine for minimum wage workers, but I fear that because I make above minimum wage, I will see my budget cost of living budget increase by 1/3 or more and will no longer be able to afford to pay back my student loans once all this happens.

Then comes the bad credit debt & never owning a home & never being able to retire & this snowballs into my college career has been self-destructive, God help us all ... :nailbiting:

I would like to hear other nurses input and opinion on the matter, if nothing else but to help me from catastrophizing this ~ Thank You

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God help us all ... :nailbiting:

I would like to hear other nurses input and opinion on the matter, if nothing else but to help me from catastrophizing this ~ Thank You

Too late.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

COLA has risen and wages have surpressed; most nurses have been making the same amount of money OR LESS for the past 20 years.

Many costs have risen, and if outside costs are controlled while wages go up; it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

These issues of wage suppression and uncheck cost rising was discussed c.2006 in the Economist, and there was a 'hidden' economic crisis going on that many who rely on the mainstream to get information was definitely not paying attention to.

This is a blog, but I like the points raised about how our current Ecomonic status is not helping, especially low wage earners who have aspirations to get into a trade or desire a "useful" college degree, but their money status is forcing them to worker harder and basically see no result; add in student loans and the profilgation of scam proprietary schools and we have the mess that we are in right now:

A Dose of Financial Reality - The Simple Dollar

How does this pertain to Nursing?

Google nursing wage suppression and have a great field day with THAT.

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Taking the profession as a whole, I personally feel we are quite well compensated. There will always be problematic geographical regions or health care systems, whether the minimum wage goes up or not. Perhaps you are in one of these areas or systems.

I have enough to worry about without adding this to the list of issues potentially keeping me up at night, and when those are dealt with, I suspect this will still be pretty far down the list.

I applaud the efforts to increase the minimum wage. Everyone, and *especially* those doing the physically demanding and/or aesthetically unpleasant jobs (i.e. janitorial) deserves to make enough money that they don't need to worry about being able to put food on the table, afford medical care and prescriptions, pay rent, and have a little something left over to save for a rainy day or treat a child to something special.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Hmmm...if you were interested in facts...not fear, you "might"...just might realize that your interest may be better served taking limbo lessons...it's gonna be hard getting under a bar set so low! At least with such a pitifully low cash flow you'll be able to keep buying the kool aid you seen to like...good luck!

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I'll be making a few bucks more than minimum wage. I'm a RN.. The years in school and debt will not be worth it. I'd probably have more money and sanity working at target for $15 with no student loans and less of my paycheck going to taxes. [emoji52]

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Specializes in ER.

I think, is the minimum wage is increased, then it will generally cause inflation, otherwise people won't bother getting educated for a better job. If $15 is your entry level, then as people advance, they'll get more.

My son told me that they have this in Australia already. I'm not sure the overall effect, but they have a prosperous country.

If goods and services become more expensive, there is usually less demand so it may increase unemployment and hurt some business.

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I'll be making a few bucks more than minimum wage. I'm a RN.. The years in school and debt will not be worth it. I'd probably have more money and sanity working at target for $15 with no student loans and less of my paycheck going to taxes. [emoji52]

Most nurses will have significantly better health insurance through their employers than you would get through Target. Additionally, you would be unlikely to advance to earning much more than minimum wage as a Target cashier (particularly if that minimum wage is $15/hr), whereas in nursing, as you gain experience you become a valuable asset and will earn significantly more. Many employers will pay nurses extra for certain certifications. In nursing you have the opportunity for overtime, night/weekend differentials, etc. Target may offer these to some extent, but they are likely to be way less than what you get as a nurse.

You mention student loans. There are several programs for loan forgiveness if your position meets certain criteria. There are programs for government, public health, nonprofit, certain regional areas, etc. My remaining balance on my loans will be paid off in about 2 years, at which point I will have made 10 years of minimum monthly payments.

Finally, and not at all insignificantly, in nursing you have the chance to make a huge difference in the lives of your patients - perhaps even a lifesaving difference. You are unlikely to have that experience at Target.

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For someone whose career plan is to become a DNP, you don't seem to have a very good understanding that economic factors contribute to health inequalities. In order to promote good health, you need to promote equal access to the social economic factors that contribute to it.

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$15 Minimum Wage increases are expected to hit our nation, coast to coast, in the near future

You drinking the Bernie Sanders Kool Aid.

Don't see that ever happening

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Specializes in Healthcare risk management and liability.

$15 wage law has little impact on Seattle’s thriving labor market, report suggests | The Seattle Times

Seattle is one of the testbeds for the $ 15 minimum wage theory, and it is being closely followed. Given the current state of the economy in Seattle however, it is hard to separate out the effects of the wage law from other factors.

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California's minimum wage is already $10 and I still make more than five times that despite starting in a new role at a entry-level wage. You're suggesting increasing it to $15 is going to dramatically devalue my experience and increase my cost-of-living?

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