This affects all American people !!! I am disappointed in state law at the moment, these issues go far beyond the state level government. There are NO state laws concerning minimum wage requirements in agriculture here in Maine. Farming is a very large employment source where I live. I recently worked at a very large farm with a projected net income of roughly 700,000 a year, a figure I read on the Maine State Agricultural website. I worked at the same farm last year as I did this year. I worked many hours and averaged about $3.25 an hour. I worked as hard as possible and did not stop working once until my lunch break. I worked for over five hours of very strenuous labor for eleven dollars yesterday, this is a large trend in Agriculture. I am outraged at the suffering local economy when these business make a very large profit. I worked for eleven dollars for over five hours non stop. I am thirty six years old, I have worked many jobs for government, education and several other industries as well. I am a very hard worker. I became partially disabled in 2007. I feel that it is discrimination, I have heard many locals put down disabled persons and have been treated differently because they are on social security. I feel that these types of agricultural business feel that disabled people who are employed should receive less than minimum wage. Basically, I feel that the employer passes the buck so to speak, figuring that we get "free money." I have worked full time for most of my life since I have been old enough to work. For many years I have worked well over forty hours, even on average of 70 hours a week for at least five years of my career. My family elders who served this country would be outraged as they have been poor all of their lives and we are still poor. Local agriculture knows that their is a very high disabled rate in town and take full advantage due to the lack of jobs. Almost everyone who fought in this country was ripped off, many poor to begin with. I also would like to point out that many veterans have been ripped off who are below poverty level, with poor grandchildren who join the military because that's what daddy did. What did anyone get in return for their service besides a broken spirit, deficit, sickness, PTSD, broken backs, etc. I think the reason for this grave injustice is to defend the rich and their shady business practices. What good is a military education when many troops are damaged ? How many retired air force do you know who own an airplane or fly one now ? I wonder how many veterans are disabled in this country and poor, poor, poor ? I can not even find a proper veteran disability rate, only service disability rate. I wonder how many people who served are disabled in any way whether "service related" or not ? I know there are things that politics and business do not talk about. The statistics for 2013 "Service Related Disability" according to Disabiltystatistics.org United States Estimated 20.2 % are service related disabilities Base population of Armed Forces 11,462,900 It is projected that the F-35 project will cost over 1 1/4 TRILLION dollars for manufacturing and maintenance which is almost the same as the student loan deficit. About 50% of recent college graduates are working right around minimum wage after graduating. I also wish to point out that Our local economy is in turmoil. Corporations and businesses in the area make sure that you work for minimum wage with no benefits as they hire a scarce amount of full timers. The business is this country always pass the buck to the Federal Government when the employers were responsible for putting the country in poor economical status and continue to rob the people and government. Not many people seem to understand legislature due to the lack of transparency of laws and education. I hear a lot people blame Obama, blame immigration, disabled, poor, etc. I say put the pressure back on the companies who screwed it up in the first place. That is pretty much all that I see around here in Caribou, Maine. Some of these companies scarcely hire full time employees to avoid benefits for workers. Low income Obama care does not pay for much right now, that is why people should get involved. A record high 28.1 million workers are now part-time, though the recession officially ended four years ago. Since the 2008-09 recession, part-time employment rose by 2.8 million (almost all of the gain was involuntary). Full-time work fell by 9.4 million from 2007 through 2010, the Census Bureau says. During that time, the ratio of part-timers rose to 20%, vs. 13% in 1968, and 17% in 1980. The economy has created just 130,000 full-time positions so far in 2013, versus 557,000 part-time jobs. Fact regarding Obamacare: Some consumers, especially those with limited incomes who do not qualify for tax credits or subsidies, might consider bronze plans that have low premiums. "But these plans are also going to offer the least comprehensive coverage, that means higher deductibles and up front costs before your coverage begins." "Consumers have to be prepared to pay the full cost of their health care that they need". Here is a link to a reliable Living wage calculator courtesy of the folks at MIT.
http://livingwage.mit.edu
