Minimum Wage News
Reports on wage policy, business impact, and labor market debates. The Daily Signal includes conservative commentary and opinion on minimum wage issues.
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opinion
Minimum Wage Fail
Not long ago, new kinds of jobs appeared: app-based gig work. They include jobs like dog walking on Rover, Taskrabbit work, DoorDash food delivery, Uber and Lyft driving … Lots of people like gig work. It’s flexible. You work when you want to work. But “workers’ rights” activists and governing socialists don’t like that. Gig… -
exclusive
Squad Pushes $25 Minimum Wage in the Name of ‘Racial Justice’
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The Daily Signal has obtained plans from a coalition of House Democrats showing it will push legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour and “tax the rich” in an effort to strip “power and privilege” from “the wealthy and well‑connected” to advance “racial justice.” Reps. Delia Ramirez,… -
opinion
Minimum Wage Mandates Will Fuel Inflation. Workers Need Real Wage Increases Not Erased by Higher Prices.
With inflation at a 40-year high, politicians understandably want to ease the pain. The good news is that federal lawmakers can help by paring back deficit-financed spending and removing government-imposed barriers to work and economic activity. The bad news is that many politicians instead are looking for easy artificial fixes, like temporarily suspending the federal… -
opinion
Biden’s $15 Minimum Wage for Federal Workers, Contractors Is Futile
Unable to force a $15 federal minimum wage across the entire country, the Biden administration issued an executive order, now implemented, requiring a $15 minimum wage for all federal workers and federal contractors. While the federal government can avoid some of the harmful effects of wage-setting by politicians, this executive order may provide a temporary—though… -
opinion
Besides Lost Jobs, 3 More Ways Minimum Wage Laws Hurt Workers They’re Meant to Help
Many studies have documented the effect of minimum wage laws on lost jobs, including the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that a $15-an-hour minimum wage would cost 1.4 million jobs. That’s because mandating higher wages for some workers means no wages for others. But it wouldn’t just be workers who lost their jobs that would be… -
opinion
Liberals’ Employer Tax Scheme in Lieu of $15 Minimum Wage Is as Crazy as It Is Convoluted
Despite repeated setbacks—including opposition from some Democrats—to liberal lawmakers’ deeply flawed push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, proponents continue their desperate search for roundabout ways to force through that mandated nationwide minimum. The first blow came when the Senate parliamentarian ruled that a $15 minimum wage could not be included under… -
opinion
Ocasio-Cortez’s Terrible Minimum Wage Argument
“It is utterly embarrassing that ‘pay people enough to live’ is a stance that’s even up for debate,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently tweeted. “Override the parliamentarian and raise the wage. [McDonald’s] workers in Denmark are paid $22/hr + 6 wks paid vacation. $15/hr is a deep compromise—a big one, considering the phase in.” The most… -
opinion
Job Creation, Not a $15 Minimum Wage, Will Reduce Poverty
Though the Senate parliamentarian rejected their efforts to include a $15-an-hour minimum wage in President Joe Biden’s so-called COVID-19 relief bill, Senate Democrats are scrambling for a way to include it. Their efforts demonstrate the importance of this issue for the progressive left. But should they succeed, would such a measure truly help struggling Americans… -
opinion
Despite 2 Strikes at Job-Killing Minimum Wage Hike, Senators Keep Swinging
First, the Democrats’ $15 federal hourly minimum wage mandate was ruled out by the Senate’s parliamentarian because it didn’t conform to the rules of the Senate for passing reconciliation bills with a 50-vote threshold. So, Democrats pivoted to a new, even worse plan. They wanted to tax businesses that hire entry-level and lower-skilled workers. They… -
news
Minimum Wage Increase Not Allowed in Biden Rescue Plan, Senate Rules Official Says
Democrats aren’t allowed to attach a provision increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour to their coronavirus relief package, a top Senate official ruled, according to reports. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who oversees the interpretation of the chamber’s rules and precedents, decided Thursday evening that the proposed minimum wage hike couldn’t be included… -
opinion
Harmful Minimum Wage Increase Not Eligible for Reconciliation
House Democrats’ deeply flawed “stimulus” bill includes a provision that would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour, a policy change that would be extremely harmful. It would kill jobs, increase prices, harm the economic recovery, and even make child care unaffordable for many families. Because Congress is considering the bill under the budget… -
opinion
$15 Minimum Wage Would Harm Those It’s Supposed to Help
As someone who grew up in poverty and worked much of her career to help others out of it, I know the importance of having a good job with a good income. It’s a way out of poverty for many. It allows people to provide for their families. And we all know the sense of… -
news
Here’s What $15 Minimum Wage Would Mean for This Frozen Yogurt Shop Owner
Some lawmakers’ push to raise the national minimum wage to $15 an hour is “truly maddening,” small business owner Stuart Hornsby says. Hornsby owns a frozen yogurt shop, a business he built from the ground up in 2013, in a small city in northwest Georgia. With the exception of the manager and a few other… -
news
Restaurant Owners, Workers Warn of ‘Unintended Consequences’ of $15 Minimum Wage
Restaurant owners and tipped employees alike are expressing concerns over a proposal to raise the national minimum wage to $15 an hour, with one going so far as to say it would amount to a “death knell” for the restaurant industry. President Joe Biden has called for a $15 an hour minimum wage in his… -
opinion
Unintended Consequence of $15 Minimum Wage: Higher Child Care Costs
Many families struggle to find child care, especially at a cost they can afford. A $15 federal minimum wage could make child care unattainable for millions more families. Higher wages are a great thing, especially for child care workers who serve such an important role in the lives of children and families. But the reality… -
opinion
6 Bleak Consequences From CBO’s Report on the $15 Minimum Wage
Rising incomes are a great thing, and it would be wonderful if all jobs paid at least $15 per hour. After all, that would reduce government welfare spending and give people more freedom and greater financial security. Hence liberal lawmakers’ Raise the Wage Act of 2021 (S. 53), which would incrementally increase the federal minimum… -
opinion
$15 Federal Minimum Wage: An Anchor on Struggling Businesses
President Joe Biden has proposed a nationwide $15 minimum wage as part of his so-called “American Rescue Plan.” Talk about bad timing: Raising labor prices on businesses that are struggling to stay afloat is like throwing them a load of bricks instead of a life preserver. State and local governments raising their minimum wages is… -
opinion
Affirmative Action, Minimum Wage, and More: Results of Key Ballot Initiatives
While most of America focuses on the presidential election, some huge issues are being decided in states around the country through ballot measures and propositions. It’s easy to forget as the nation obsesses over who occupies the White House that most policies and laws are set at the state and local level. And given that… -
opinion
Now Would Be a Terrible Time to Raise the Minimum Wage
Imagine that your monthly mortgage payment suddenly increased by 50%. And that it happened now, in the wake of COVID-19-related job and income losses. That’s what some policymakers are now suggesting lawmakers should do by raising minimum wages at the worst possible time. As unemployment is high, many jobs have disappeared, and the lowest-wage industries,… -
opinion
Fellow Lawmakers: Your Minimum Wage Bills Only Hurt Our Country
Democrats initially wanted a $15 federal minimum wage, which recently passed in the House of Representatives. Now, some are calling for $20 per hour. Both policies would backfire on Americans in a major way. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that if the $15 minimum wage became law, up to 3.7 million jobs could be…