Mind The Gap
The Latest Good News On The Minimum Wage
A few weeks ago, we wrote about a number of states around the country that aren’t
waiting for Congress to raise their minimum wages. This week brings yet more big
news for those of us who believe that raising the minimum wage is a critical
step in creating an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few.
Here are a few of the top stories:
1. Gap, Inc. Will Raise Its Minimum Wage To
$10. The retail clothing chain announced its decision yesterday,
which is estimated to affect 65,000 U.S. employees. “To us, this is not a
political issue,” GAP Chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy said. “Our decision to
invest in frontline employees will directly support our business, and is one
that we expect to deliver a return many times over.” Gap joins other chains like
Costco, Whole Foods and In-N-Out Burger in embracing higher wages because
employees work harder and stay longer after wages increase.
2. Nonpartisan Study Finds Raising Federal Minimum
Wage To $10.10 Would Raise Earnings For 16.5 Million Workers. The
report, from the Congressional Budget Office, also estimated that the increase
would result in $31 billion in more earnings and would lift 1 million out of
poverty.
3. Economists Dispute The CBO Estimate That Raising
The Minimum Wage Would Cost 500,000 Jobs. The one piece of bad news
in the CBO report was its estimate that 500,000 jobs would be lost as a result
of a minimum wage increase to $10.10. However, numerous economists who study these impacts have disputed
the methodology used. The New York Times Editorial Board, which supported raising the minimum wage in the wake of
the CBO report, explains in plain language: “The budget office didn’t do its own
research on those variables. It surveyed the economic literature on the subject,
and chose a figure more conservative than the most recent and rigorous studies
have found.”
4. Wal-Mart Announced It Would No Longer Oppose
Certain Increases In The Minimum Wage. The largest private employer
in the U.S. will not oppose minimum wage proposals as long as they have
provisions to “manage the impact,” like a phase-in period, according to their
Vice President of Corporate Communications, David Tovar. Tovar also indicated
that the company is “looking” at throwing its support behind a proposal.
5. Iowa State Senate Committee Approves Minimum Wage
Increase To $10.10 By 2016. A bill to raise the minimum wage in the
state cleared this key procedural hurdle yesterday morning by a 7-4 party-line
vote. “Nobody that works full time should live in poverty,” State Sen. Jack
Hatch said. “This should not be a partisan issue, this is about working people
struggling to provide the very basics for their families.”
6. State Lawmakers Will Try To Live Off Of The
Minimum Wage For A Week. Five Minnesota lawmakers are raising
awareness for the cause by taking the “Minimum Wage Challenge” and living off of
a typical budget for a worker who makes the federal minimum wage of $7.25. The
challenge allows $5 a day for food and $9 a day for transportation.
BOTTOM LINE: Momentum for
raising the minimum wage continues to build. Gap, Inc. is leading the way in
showing that higher wages will help, not hurt, businesses. The latest studies
show that the benefits of increasing the minimum wage in additional earnings and
decreased poverty rates far outnumber the potential costs. And lawmakers in the
states continue to work to pass their own laws without waiting for federal
action.
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