​* Tennessee kills $12 minimum wage bill. * New unemployment claims more than double from a year ago. * Still no stimulus check? You're not alone.

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​Tennessee kills $12 minimum wage bill. 

A bill came before the Tennessee Senate Commerce and Labor Committee this week that would've raised the minimum wage in the state to $12 an hour by 2025.  

As the bill stated, the increase for 2022 would be to $9.25 an hour, followed by annual adjustments until the $12 per hour rate was achieved on or after January 1, 2025. 

However, on Tuesday of this week, the bill was brought before the committee and failed to achieve a second.  You can watch video of one of the co-sponsors of the bill, Senator Sara Kyle of Memphis, as she asked the committee for the increase here.

Tennessee abides by the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour and hasn't made a change since 2008. 
Currently, a full time minimum wage worker in Tennessee (at 40 hours a week), will earn $290 per week.  That's right at $15,000 per year.  Note that the national poverty line for a family of two is $16,000 per year. 
As a result, there are thousands of Tennessee families, with one wage earner, even while working full time, living under the poverty line.

In fact, almost 14% of Tennessee's population qualifies as living below the poverty line.
 
EVEN MORE DISTURBING, all of these numbers are PRE-COVID.


New unemployment claims more than double from a year ago.

New unemployment claims for Tennessee last week topped 7,500. That number is up slightly from the previous week, and is more than double this same time last year (March 2020: 2,700 new claims).

The number of continued claims in Tennessee totaled 44,428. 


Still no stimulus check? You're not alone. 

While 90 million Americans have already received their $1,400 stimulus checks, millions more are still wondering why they haven't received theirs.

According to the IRS and Treasury Department, millions more payments are going to be dispensed in the next couple of weeks by direct deposit, mailed paper checks, or pre-paid debit cards.

If you haven't received a payment, or a smaller check than you expected, there are a few steps you can take:

1. Check the 'Get My Payment' site.  Go to irs.gov and click the Get My Payment option. Fill out the necessary information and get an update on your status.
2. File your 2020 taxes. The deadline has been extended to May 17th, but filing ASAP may help them determine your qualification and how much you qualify for. 
3. Be patient. According to the IRS, for most taxpayers, no action is needed. The money will automatically be sent to qualifying individuals on record. Yes, that does include people who don't typically file returns as well as beneficiaries of Social Security, SSI, Railroad Retirement, or Veterans Affairs benefits. 

​If you have found yourself in a difficult financial situation, and realize waiting for government help isn't the ultimate answer, reach out to us for advice. Our office has helped thousands of Tennesseans with financial problems, with counseling, debt resolution, and legal remedies such as bankruptcy if necessary.

Call our office at (731) 423-1888, or visit our website for more information at www.vernersmith.com