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Minimum wage for teens protects their job prospects
July 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Detroit News
When Michigan legislators voted to increase the state’s minimum wage to $9.25 by 2019, they also voted to make it more difficult for teens to get summer jobs. The state’s teen unemployment rate is still averaging 18.4 percent, and the last thing these frustrated jobseekers need is another barrier to entry. That’s why an expanded youth minimum wage, as introduced by state Sen. Margaret O’Brien, is a… -
The minimum-wage debate has two sides
July 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Today the minimum wage is one of the most debated public policies. This is particularly timely for Pennsylvania, where the Legislature is considering a proposal to increase the state-mandated minimum wage by 39 percent to $10.10. Unfortunately, some proponents would rather silence debate than engage in it. A prime example occurred recently in the Post-Gazette opinion pages, where economics professor Sean Flaherty attacked those who point to… -
NY fast-food joints explain why Cuomo’s wage hike will kill jobs
June 2015 · Michael Saltsman · New York Post
Tomorrow in Buffalo, Gov. Cuomo’s hand-picked wage board will hold the first of four hearings on whether to recommend a new minimum wage for the fast-food industry. All three board members are already on record supporting a wage hike, and the cynical take is that these hearings are nothing more than a formality. But the results of a new survey of more than 900 self-identified fast-food operators… -
Whitehouse, Reed don’t pay interns
May 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Providence Journal
New faces will soon fill the halls of Capitol Hill office buildings as students fresh off their final exams come to Washington for summer internships. Many of them will be in the offices of the 199 congressional sponsors of the recently proposed Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage by 66 percent from $7.25 to $12 per hour. This includes the offices of… -
Bill Clinton’s wisdom for Hillary on the minimum wage
May 2015 · Michael Saltsman · New York Daily News
Hillary Clinton, in her campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination, is feeling maximum pressure to support a higher minimum wage. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) recently introduced legislation that set the bar for a new federal standard at $12 an hour — a 66% increase over the current $7.25. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who may challenge Clinton for the nomination, raised the stakes even higher by… -
Should policymakers ‘like’ Facebook’s $15 minimum wage?
May 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Tampa Tribune
America’s favorite social network, Facebook, announced last week that it would require contractors and vendors who do “substantial” business with the company to pay a minimum wage of at least $15 an hour. (These businesses will also have to provide 15 paid days off.) Advocates for a higher minimum wage were quick to trumpet the announcement as part of their campaign to force a $15 mandate on…