The Minimum Wage: Time to Start Working On the Next Increase

jaredbernsteinblog.com — I’ve always thought the national minimum wage is a lot more important than most people tend to think. By definition, it sets a floor on the low end of the job market, though to their credit, many states now set their minimums above the federal level of $7.25. Lots of low-wage workers and their families depend on it, and its long slide, as shown in the figure below, especially over the Reagan years, contributed to wage losses and working poverty for many who toil to this day in low-end services. Of course, when someone raises the idea of a raise, you hear a huge outcry from some in the business lobby. Such workers, they say, will now be “priced out of the labor market.” Yet, you hear the opposite from groups that represent low-wage workers interests, groups like the National Employment Law Project, or NELP (proud disclosure: I’m on their board). Hmmm…who you gonna believe?

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