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EITC vs. Minimum Wage: Where Should Advocates Place Their Bets?
January 2011 · Michael Saltsman · Spotlight on Poverty
The best way to lift people out of poverty is to help businesses grow and create jobs. But while a rising tide of economic prosperity can reduce poverty, it won’t end it. There’s general agreement that government has a role to play in helping the less fortunate. But it should do so with an eye to minimizing unintended consequences—which is why it’s time to reevaluate the minimum… -
A Consensus In Favor Of Wage Mandates?
January 2011 · Rick Berman · Investor's Business Daily
Liberal advocacy groups who argue in favor of a higher minimum wage have a tough job: Faced with mountains of data countering their argument that wage mandates don’t cost jobs, they struggle to find their intellectual footing. They often display a Potemkin village of 665 economists who subscribe to a theory that suggests labor costs don’t factor into hiring decisions. First compiled and promoted by the union-backed… -
The ‘Living Wage’ Lie
November 2010 · Michael Saltsman · New York Post
There is broad agreement among economists that raising the minimum wage forces businesses to cut jobs and roll back the hours of their low-skilled workforce. Only a handful of studies suggest otherwise — but politicians and activists who support a “living wage” mandate in New York City are sure to promote such research as the final word in the debate. Noted labor economists David Neumark and William… -
‘Living Wage’ Kills Jobs
July 2010 · Michael Saltsman · Baltimore Business Journal
The labor subcommittee of Baltimore’s City Council on Thursday put a hold on Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke’s plans for a citywide living wage of $10.57. It’s unlikely we’ve heard the last of it, though. The full council can choose to take up the legislation with a simple majority vote, and advocacy groups are already dialing up the pressure. Paul Sonn, of the National Employment Law Project, is… -
The Deathly Living Wage
May 2007 · Dr. Jill Jenkins · The American Spectator
There isn’t any other hot political debate that can match the divide between the rhetoric and the reality of the so-called “living” wage. The issue recently re-emerged on the national stage when Maryland became the first state in the nation to pass wage-level requirements on all state contractors. And before you could say “slippery slope,” living-wage advocates nationwide were calling on their local lawmakers to act likewise.… -
Minimum wage hike won’t help the poor
February 2004 · Craig Garthwaite · Wisconsin State Journal
The nation’s leisure and hospitality industry went on a hiring spree during the last half of last year: about 300,000 new jobs that have been created in every type of service outlet from fast food to four-star dining—in a sector that accounts for just 9 percent of all jobs. The bad news: Wisconsin’s residents are being left out of this long-awaited jobs boom. Wisconsin lost 8,600 such…