An update on the minimum wage: feels good, sounds good, in practice not really – pink slips and smaller pay checks.
Big picture: minimum wage is apartheid for the unskilled. There are good ways to help the neediest. The minimum wage is not one of them.
Just a week ago we reported how the state of Maine had watered down its minimum-wage law for restaurant employees due to angry objections from … restaurant employees! Seems they realized the law would lead not to higher wages for most, but to fewer jobs and lower wages because employers would cut the number of hours they worked.
We also reported on a new study of Seattle’s minimum-wage hike from $9.47 an hour in 2013 to $13 an hour in 2016. University of Washington economists found it was a disaster, leading to a 9% plunge in the number of hours worked, and an average earnings decline of about $125 a month for low-wage workers.
Now comes news from Missouri, where, just like Maine, they got the message. Missouri’s minimum had been raised from $7.70 an hour in 2015 to $10 an hour this year, on their way to $11 an hour in January. Sure, a number of workers would have seen a nice pay raise. But others would have gotten pink slips, or seen their hours cut sharply back.
“It will kill jobs,” explained Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. “And despite what you hear from liberals, it will take money out of people’s pockets.” So the state is returning the minimum to $7.70 an hour.
What do you think about the minimum wage?