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When wage hike proponents stifle debate, public policy suffers
May 2015 · Michael Saltsman · NewsWorks
When advocacy groups or politicians try to silence one side of a public policy debate, it’s a good indicator that the facts aren’t on their side. Consider Tara Murtha of the liberal Women’s Law Project, who complained in a recent NewsWorks commentary (“There’s no real ‘debate’ about the benefit of raising the minimum wage“) that Pennsylvania’s news outlets failed to present a uniformly positive point of view on… -
Should Oakland voters have a case of buyer’s remorse on minimum wage?
May 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Contra Costa Times
The Oakland minimum wage rose by 36 percent to $12.25 on March 1, following ballot-box approval this past November. Proponents from a labor-union backed coalition called Lift Up Oakland argued that the new mandate would be good for business, and that the city’s small businesses might even “appreciate” the new mandate. But press reports and a new survey of more than 200 Oakland businesses paint a very… -
No, Americans don’t support a $12 minimum wage
May 2015 · Michael Saltsman · The Hill
Today, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Robert Scott (D-Va.) will introduce legislation to raise the federal minimum wage by 66 percent to $12 an hour. Their proposal has little economic rationale: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office already established last year that any poverty reductions from a $10.10 wage hike would come at the cost of a half-million jobs, and a $12 floor would just compound that… -
At protests, look for the union label
April 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Cherry Hill Courier Post
Fast-food restaurants are bracing themselves for another round of coordinated wage protests scheduled to take place on Wednesday in major cities nationwide, including Philadelphia. These “strikes” have made national headlines for over two years now, driven by largely sympathetic media coverage. The protest organizers argue that Wednesday’s event is simply the next phase of a grass-roots movement. But new union spending disclosures released by the Labor Department… -
Wage protests stem from unions, not grass roots
April 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Las Vegas Review-Journal
Fast-food restaurants are bracing themselves for another round of coordinated wage protests scheduled to take place today in major cities nationwide, including Las Vegas. These “strikes” have made national headlines for more than two years now, driven by largely sympathetic media coverage. The protest organizers argue that the event is simply the next phase of a grass-roots movement. But new union spending disclosures released by the Labor… -
Oakland minimum wage hike burdens businesses, hurts employees
April 2015 · Michael Saltsman · California Political Review
Oakland’s minimum wage rose by 36 percent to $12.25 less than a month ago, but the city’s neighbors to the north in Emeryville are already trying to follow suit. This week, the City Council settled on a plan to increase the minimum wage by 36 percent for smaller businesses, and by 60 percent for larger businesses. Before acting on this plan, the council would be wise to…