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Wage hike a publicity stunt
March 2017 · Michael Saltsman · Detroit News
Shortly after announcing his candidacy for mayor of Detroit, state Sen. Coleman A. Young II proposed raising Michigan’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. It appears the state senator has the same careless touch in crafting economic policy that his father often had in running the city. The younger Young launched his campaign with familiar rhetoric, contrasting the new wave of prosperity downtown with the continuing poverty… -
Minimum wage boost would damage economy
March 2017 · Michael Saltsman · Quad City Times
Gov. Terry Branstad is half-right on the minimum wage. Last month, the governor threw his support behind “a modest increase” in the Iowa’s minimum wage as well as a measure that would restrict municipalities from increasing their minimum wage above the state level. He’s wrong on the first point but right on the second. A review of the best minimum wage research, published by the Federal Reserve… -
What a Gig Harbor toy store can tell us about Washington’s minimum wage
February 2017 · Jordan Bruneau · Tacoma Tribune
The early evidence of Washington state’s minimum wage increase is in, and the results so far are not promising. In January the state’s starter wage increased to $11 on its way to $13.50 by 2020. Since then, numerous small businesses in the state have been forced to cut job opportunities or close their doors in response. O’Doherty’s Pub in Spokane is closing, with the owner citing the… -
Cuomo’s minimum-wage hikes are already killing jobs
January 2017 · Michael Saltsman · New York Post
New York’s small businesses headed into the new year on a sour note. As of Dec. 31, the Empire State shares with California the dubious distinction of having the country’s most onerous minimum-wage requirements. Employers now face at least 14 different minimum-wage levels, depending on the size, type and location of a business, as well as the type of employee. (The state restaurant association has compiled all… -
What’s ‘fair’ about a work-scheduling bill that hurts employees and businesses?
January 2017 · Michael Saltsman · Crain's New York Business
New York City has become a laboratory for the left, and its next experiment is sure to fail The City Council’s resolution for 2017 appears to be more red tape and fewer job opportunities in the Big Apple. That’s the net effect of new “Fair Work Week” legislation that would impose union-style work rules on fast-food businesses. New York City has become a laboratory for the left,… -
The ‘Fight for $15’: Coming to a City Hall Near You
January 2017 · Michael Saltsman · The Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration should show local officials the research proving that minimum wages cost jobs. Call it a New Year’s Day massacre for the entry-level job market: As 2017 dawned, the minimum wage went up in 19 states and more than 20 cities or counties. In California alone, 12 cities raised their starting pay requirement, some to as high as $13 an hour, compared with $7.25 for the…