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A $15 minimum wage proving not all gain with no pain
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · OC Register
The Supreme Court recently rejected a legal challenge to Seattle’s $15 minimum wage, but the jury’s still out on the law’s job market impact. David Rolf, president of Washington state’s powerful SEIU Local 775 and an architect of the “Fight for $15,” isn’t willing to wait. He’s been speaking on the East and West Coasts to promote his new book that shares the name of the wage… -
CBO report warns of upcoming jobs crisis
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · Delaware News Journal
Nearly one in six American men between the ages of 18 and 34 is jobless or incarcerated, up from about one in ten in 1980. The story is even worse for less educated and black men, among whom nearly one in three young black men is jobless or incarcerated. These are the startling findings from a new Congressional Budget Office report released last week, which provide a… -
Raising D.C.’s tipped minimum wage would hurt, not help, servers
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · Washington Post
D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) proposed raising the minimum wage for tipped employees by 171 percent. That sounds extreme — because it is. Bowser’s announcement came less than a month after her State of the District speech calling for a 30 percent increase in the regular minimum wage, to $15 from $11.50. Servers in the District also would be subject to a new wage requirement, but the minimum wage for… -
Here’s why a higher minimum wage is a bad idea
May 2016 · Michael Saltsman · Business Insider
When Donald Trump makes more sense on the minimum wage than you do, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your stance. Seattle entrepreneur Nick Hanauer found himself in this unenviable position last week. While Trump tried to articulate a nuanced wage approach–keep the federal wage requirement unchanged, and allow states to go further–Hanauer argued for a more aggressive stance, pointing to a new report from the labor-backed National… -
The best anti-poverty program remains a job
April 2016 · Michael Saltsman · OC Register
After passage of the state’s $15 minimum wage, state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, triumphantly claimed that the policy would “lift up 2.2 million minimum wage workers.” It’s a questionable claim on the senator’s part, given the overwhelming evidence that many of these 2.2 million workers will lose hours or their jobs as a consequence of the policy. But the senator’s argument – that a $15 minimum… -
COMMENTARY: NJ shouldn’t raise minimum wage
April 2016 · Michael Saltsman · Cherry Hill Courier Post
New Jersey Democrats are hoping to capitalize on the momentum gained by New York and California’s recently passed $15 minimum wages. Their proposal, currently before the state Legislature, would likewise increase the state minimum wage to $15. But as with so many trends — political and otherwise — that come out of New York and California, this one shouldn’t necessarily be followed elsewhere. That’s especially true for…