Economics and Wages .002*
*proportion of a 101 course
What is the La Plata County THRIVE
Living Wage Coalition?
§  Living
wage advocacy for workers in La
Plata County
§  Primary mechanism: employer
recognition
§  Advocacy to raise the minimum wage
Minimum wage and livable wage
u Federal
minimum wage now:
u Colorado minimum wage:
u Colorado tipped min. wage:
u La
Plata County livable wage
$7.25/hour
$9.30/hour
$6.28/hour
$12.98/hour
Living wage employers in La Plata County
San Juan Hand Therapy
Living wage employers in La Plata County
The Wells Group
Living wage employers in La Plata County
Velorution Bike Shop
Living wage employers in La Plata County
The Payroll Department
Living wage employers in La Plata County
….and many more
u 
81301 Coffee Roasters
u 
Durango Adult Education Center
u 
Great Old Broads for Wilderness
u 
Adaptive Sports Association
u 
Durango Dental
u 
Growing Partners of SW Colorado
u 
Advanced Concrete Solutions
u 
Durango Magazine
u 
ImageNet Consulting (Durango)
u 
Animas Surgical Hospital
u 
Durango Small Car Inc.
u 
Jaynes Corporation of Colorado (Durango)
u 
AREM Property Management
u 
Durango Telegraph
u 
Karyn Gabaldon Fine Arts
u 
Artesanos Design Collection
u 
Durango Wood Company
u 
Know Your Dough
u 
Atlas Specific
u 
Ecosphere Environmental Services
u 
KSUT Public Radio
u 
ASAP Accounting & Payroll
u 
Eolus Bar & Dining Restaurant
u 
La Plata County
u 
Bank of Colorado (Durango)
u 
Evening Porch Assisted Living
u 
La Plata Family Medicine
u 
Basin Printing and Imaging
u 
Fifth Street Eatery
u 
La Plata Youth Services
u 
Calcom Solar
u 
First Southwest Bank (Durango)
u 
Mantell-Hecathorn Builders
u 
Christ the King Lutheran Church
u 
Flatrock Solar
u 
Local First
u 
Coldwell Banker Heritage House Realtors
u 
Four Corners OB/GYN
u 
Manna Soup Kitchen
u 
Crazy Dog Window Washing
u 
Freenotes Harmony Park
u 
Matlock Furniture & Mattresses
u 
Desert Sun Coffee Roasters
u 
Fresh off the Press
….and more
u 
Mile High Plumbing
u 
Santé
u 
Stone Age
u 
Mountain Bike Specialists
u 
Scapegoat Landscaping
u 
Surya Health and Wellness
u 
Mountain View Family Health Care
u 
SCW Art Consulting
u 
Target Rental/Bobcat of Durango
u 
Oak Family Dentistry
u 
Serious Delights Bakery
u 
The Garden Project of SW Colorado
u 
Occasions Bridal & Events Boutique
u 
Shaw Solar
u 
The Payroll Department
u 
Ore House Restaurant
u 
Silver Spruce Academy
u 
The Wells Group of Durango
u 
Padilla Law, P.C.
u 
Ska Brewing Company
u 
Think Network Technologies
u 
Performance Sports
u 
Ska Fabricating
u 
Tile and Light Art of Durango
u 
Rivergate Physical Therapy
u 
Skywalker Construction
u 
Ultrasteam Professional Cleaning
u 
Riverhouse Children’s Center
u 
Smiley Building
u 
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
u 
Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses
u 
Sorrel Sky Gallery
u 
Upper Pine River Fire Protection District
u 
San Juan Basin Health Department
u 
Southwest Midwives
u 
Velorution Cycles
u 
San Juan Hand Therapy
u 
Southwest Women's Health
u 
Women’s Resource Center
u 
San Juan RC & DC
u 
Spa Evo
u 
Zia Taqueria Restaurant
u 
San Juan Smiles
u 
Spine Colorado
Colorado Amendment 70
Tipped
Employee
Effective Date Minimum Wage
Minimum Wage
January 1, 2017
$9.30
$6.28
January 1, 2018
$10.20
$7.18
January 1, 2019
$11.10
$8.08
January 1, 2020
$12.00
$8.98
Livable wage and family size
u Single
person
$12.98
u Adult and one kiddo $22.83
u Family of 4
$28.32
Rigging the game, state level
No Santa Fe Solution allowed in Colorado
February 25, 2014: Santa Fe Ordinance #2014-1
$11.02/hour starting TODAY
Tipped: $3.32/hour
u  Colorado law blocks us from acting locally
u  Colorado SB-99-014 would unblock us
Rigging the game, federal level
How did we get here? #1
See the US national economy grow
How did we get here? #2
Rigging the game:
Capturing productivity gains by the 1%
How did we get here? #3
The Purpose and Results of the
Reagan Revolution
Share of total
income going
to the top 10%
Important concept:
Progressive Taxation
u A progressive
tax is a tax in
which the tax rate increases as
the taxable amount increases. u A
taxpayer's average tax rate is
less than the person's
marginal tax rate.
Important concept:
Marginal Tax Rates
10%
$0 – $9,325
9,325 X 10% = 933
15%
$9,326 – $37,950
28,624 x 15% = 4,294
25%
$37,951 - $91,900
53,949 x 25% = 13,487
28%
33%
$91,901 – $191,650
$190,651-$416,700
35%
$416,701-$418,400
39.6%
over $418,400
Etc.
Top and Bottom
MARGINAL TAX RATES
No time to talk
about capital gains
taxes.
Tax cut flim flam and
BABOOZLEMENT
Tax cuts lead to
More income
More savings
More investment
More jobs
More money for everyone
More tax revenue
What to watch for now
u  Limit
or eliminate the home mortgage
interest tax deduction
u  Eliminate tax deductions for charitable
giving.
u  National United Way estimate: 25% drop
What else affects wage levels?
u  Racial
discrimination
u  Immigration status
u  Union or no union
u  Automation
and technology
u  Pressure from international trade
u  Social
norms
How did we get here? #4
Unemployment rates
And the Federal Reserve
1. Low unemployment rate pushes wages up
2. Flimflam says we all should fear inflation
3. Federal Reserve increases interest rates
4. Leads
to less investment and expansion
5. Leads to more unemployment and higher rates
6. Pushes
wages back down
Department of Labor: Working for all of us
Fair Labor Standards Act
u  Exempt
(supervisory) and non-exempt workers
u  Who gets paid overtime? (non-exempt)
u  Misclassification of workers
u  Wage theft
u Wage and Hour Division!! $1.8 billion in
back wages, 2 million workers, 240,000
investigations during Obama years
What we didn’t cover
u 
u 
u 
u 
u 
u 
u 
Killing Dodd Frank and increasing systemic risk, and what
it all means
Ending the Consumer Financial Protection Board, and what
that means
No Bernie. No Hillary. No student loan debt solution. Pro
debt government. And what it all means.
trade and tariffs
immigration and jobs. and technology.
killing network neutrality and what it means economically
supporting big oil over renewables
Thrive! Coalition meetings
2nd Tuesday of the Month
5:30
The Commons (Camino and 7th)
Next: Monday March 13th
Dine Out Durango
Five Days for a Living Wage
April 17 to 21
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
81301 Coffee House
Eolus Bar and Dining,
Ore House,
Ska Brewing,
Fifth Street Eatery
Zia Taqueria (North and South)
“Nobodywhoworks40hours
aweekshouldlivein
poverty.”
–BernieSanders