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Target shows the way on the minimum wage
October 2017 · Michael Satlsman · The Orange County Register
Big-box retailer Target announced last month that it will voluntarily raise its pay floor to $15 an hour by 2020. It’s the latest example of why a government wage mandate of this magnitude is unnecessary. Supporters of the labor union-backed campaign for a $15 minimum wage took credit for the retailer’s decision, but the company’s CEO offered a more self-interested rationale: Recruiting “top-quality” help to staff its… -
Minimum wage push bad for servers
September 2017 · Michael Saltsman · The Detroit News
It’s a solution in search of a problem. And it may be coming soon to a ballot box near you. The Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC), a controversial advocacy group with a checkered past, announced this week that it’s collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would raise the state’s tipped minimum wage by an eye-popping 240 percent, while also raising the overall minimum wage to $12 an… -
Stale, misguided, divisive: $15 minimum wage can’t win elections
September 2017 · Michael Saltsman · The Hill
Is the minimum wage a winning “wedge” issue? The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) certainly thinks so. Recently, the union announced plans for a massive voter engagement drive for the 2018 election cycle focusing specifically on the Midwest. However, its method of convincing voters to push Democrats into power isn’t revolutionary. The union is attempting to turn the minimum wage into a major election issue — yet again. Politicos… -
Beware unintended consequences of minimum wage hike
September 2017 · Michael Saltsman · Kansas City Star
Call it the $15 question: Who’s the real face of a rising minimum wage in Missouri? An Aug. 28 guest commentary in The Star suggested that the author — an older, college-educated employee supporting a family — was typical of those working in restaurants at the minimum wage. Federal data suggest otherwise: Less than one percent of the restaurant workforce in the Kansas City metro area matches… -
The bogus backlash against Montgomery County’s minimum-wage report
August 2017 · Michael Saltsman · The Washington Post
A new report finding substantial job loss from a proposed $15 minimum wage in Montgomery County has drawn scorn rather than self-reflection from the policy’s supporters. The backlash came primarily from the proposal’s champion, County Council member Marc Elrich (D-At Large), who was none too pleased to see a neutral third party identify the negative consequences. “It’s not a valid study,” he huffed in an interview with The Post. The Montgomery… -
Seattle’s minimum wage lesson for Illinois
August 2017 · Jordan Bruneau · State Journal Register
A minimum wage increase that reduces wages? That’s the conclusion of a major new University of Washington minimum wage study, conducted by a research team funded by the City of Seattle. And it couldn’t come at a worse time for Illinois’ minimum proponents who are hoping Gov. Bruce Rauner will sign the $15 legislation currently on his desk. The study, conducted by a diverse group of experienced economists,…