Companies giving out bonuses in response to tax hikes should raise wages instead

In his Sunday column, Wayne Allyn Root writes that, thanks to Donald Trump’s new tax law, some companies are giving their employees $1,000 bonuses. But hold on a minute. This tax law was supposed to increase wages for average Americans. A bonus is not what was promised.

Let’s compare bonuses and wages. These $1,000 bonuses amount to about 48 cents an hour over a year for those employees receiving them. Now look at a wage increase of $2.50 an hour for a 40-hour work week over the same one-year period. An employee would receive an extra $100 per week, which amounts to $5,200 over a year.

That is a simple example and a relatively small wage increase considering the tax reductions these companies are receiving. There is a substantial difference between $5,200 and $1,000. Bonuses sound exciting, but not everyone is receiving one — and bonuses are not the same as increasing wages.