By Rachael Pacella
Capital Gazette (MD), March 1, 2013
... The bill calls for a three-step increase in the state’s $7.25 per hour minimum wage. By July 1, 2015, the wage would hit $10. ...
Bill sponsor Del. Aisha Braveboy, D-Prince George’s County, argued that if the minimum wage had kept up with inflation it would be about $10 today. ...
David Cooper of the Economic Policy Institute said increasing the minimum wage would boost consumer spending and the overall economy.
“Raising the minimum wage would ... put more money in the pockets of workers that are going to go out and spend those dollars right away in their local community,” Cooper said. ...
Amanda Rothschild, co-owner of Charmington’s coffee shop in Baltimore, supports the bill. She said paying employees more than the minimum wage is profitable.
“It makes them stay longer,” Rothschild said. “It helps your retention rates. It keeps you training costs lower. It makes you more money because they work their hardest for you. They care.”
Copyright 2013 Capital Gazette