I knew it didn’t already have a federally-mandated minimum wage - I think the minimum wage there is something like $3.15. I was under the impression, however, that there was a debate about including it this time and Pelosi had opposed it. I think Barney Frank was on about it or something.
Then why do the employers always seem to be the ones who form and fund organizations to fight every proposed MW hike?
Because it’s always bad for business to raise prices just to keep profits the same. You risk losing customers. Most consumer goods are optional, or the amount one buys is optional.
Indexing the MW to prices would be harmless. That’s more or less what’s happened through the ad hoc increases Congress puts through from time to time.
Notice that over time various individual states have placed their MW’s at higher floors than the Federal one, and that they have easily gotten away with this, economically. This should make the more perceptive among you go “Hmmm.”
How so? Well, those of you who invest are, I’m sure, aware that stocks rise at a rate higher than inflation over long periods of time, so that over a person’s working life the surest way to a comfortable retirement is a strategy that puts you nearly 100% in stocks at the beginning of your working life, and then gradually cuts that back as you get closer to actually heading off to the dog track.
The reason for this is simple, really: the standard of living goes up every year. Stock prices reflect this.
Something else reflects this too: wages. Fascinatingly, Social Security benefits are partially indexed to wages, and the effect of this has been that Social Security benefits are now far higher than they would have been had they been merely indexed to inflation, a fact that has not gone unnoticed.
Point being, the minimum wage at the Federal level, because the effect of Congress’ ad hoc increases has been to more or less keep it in line with price inflation, continually falls behind the prevailing level of wages. The result is that those states with economies not dependent on the dole have found it necessary to increase it above and beyond what the Federal government sets it at.
Which, if you look at how society actually advances, isn’t surprising in the least.
So, if the country gets behind indexing the MW to price inflation, fine. It will have no adverse effect, over time, on the economy.