Minimum wage hikes are set to spike in 18 states, most of them Democratic, and they could receive a brutal lesson with the economically crippling move. Yes, it polls well. Yes, it seems good on paper, but when it comes to application—the results are the same: fewer hours worked, fewer wages, fewer job opportunities, and fewer jobs (via The Hill):
The lowest wage workers in 18 states will get a boost in their paychecks starting on New Year's Day, as minimum wage hikes take effect.
Many of the wage hikes are phased-in steps toward an ultimately higher wage, the product of ballot initiatives pushed by unions and workers rights groups over the last few years.
The minimum wage in Washington state will rise to $11.50 an hour, up 50 cents and the highest statewide minimum in the nation. Over the next three years, the wage will rise to $13.50 an hour, thanks to a ballot measure approved by voters in 2016.
Mainers will see their minimum wages rise the most, from $9 an hour to $10 an hour, an 11 percent increase. Voters approved a ballot measure in 2016 that will eventually raise the wage to $12 an hour by 2020.
Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont will see their minimum wages increase by at least 50 cents an hour. Smaller increases take effect in Alaska, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio and South Dakota.
Seattle is a prime example of where this experiment went off the hinges. In 2014, the city passed a $15/hour hike, which was to be phased in over a four-year period. It actually cost workers hours and lost wages. The rumblings that this initiative would fail could be traced back to 2016, where The Washington Post reported on Seattle’s woes in this area. This year, New York’s workers also got screwed over when Albany decided to hike the minimum wage. To make things even more interesting in Seattle, the city council actually preempted a minimum wage study from the University of Washington (UW) that did not paint a rosy picture, with one from friendlier left wing Berkeley. It was released a week before the UW analysis. The Washington Post and USA Today’s editorial boards both printed pieces, where thet say minimum wage studies should be taken seriously, both citing the UW study. In Montgomery County, Maryland, another study showed that if they hiked the minimum wage, 47,000 jobs could be gutted by 2022. They decided to increase it anyway. Facts be damned if it means pushing shoddy economics to keep the liberal base happy.
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