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State poverty report fails statistical sniff test
November 2014 · Michael Saltsman · Green Bay Press Gazette
A report by the labor union-backed Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, suggests that the state is awash in low-paying jobs. The researchers’ headline finding is that one in four Wisconsin employees works in a “poverty wage” job that wouldn’t support a family of four. Residents and policymakers shouldn’t panic just yet. A closer looks at COWS’ analysis suggests the “problem” they’ve… -
A tipping point for tips
October 2014 · Michael Saltsman · Orange County Register
Tipping your server at California restaurants may soon require a trip down memory lane. Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that five Bay Area restaurants plan to eliminate tipping in favor of a set 20 percent service charge on the menu. Further south, some Los Angeles restaurants, like Hollywood’s Petit Trois and Glendale’s Brand 158, have dumped tipping in favor of surcharges ranging from 15 to… -
About That CEO/Employee Pay Gap
October 2014 · Mark Perry and Michael Saltsman · The Wall Street Journal
Income inequality is a key theme of Democrats’ 2014 re-election strategy, and the nation’s chief executive officers are an easy target. Before retiring to their districts for the fall, the House Democratic Caucus rallied behind the CEO/Employee Pay Fairness Act, which would prevent a public company from deducting executive compensation over $1 million unless it also gives rank-and-file employees raises that keep pace with the cost of… -
Berkeley researchers Get it wrong in L.A.
October 2014 · Michael Saltsman · Orange County Register
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is the latest big-city mayor to embrace the populist battle cry of a minimum wage increase. He’s proposed raising the city’s minimum hourly wage to $13.25, a cumulative 66 percent increase from the $8 figure that prevailed in California until this summer. To justify his policy proposal, Garcetti turned to a team of researchers affiliated with the University of California-Berkeley, who reliably… -
Mandatory paid sick leave: The wrong prescription for New Jersey
October 2014 · Maxford Nelsen and Michael Saltsman · The Record
Paid sick leave mandates have moderate negative consequences for affected employers and employees. This thursday, the state Assembly Labor Committee will hear a bill that would force employers in New Jersey to provide paid sick leave. Several cities — including Jersey City, Newark, and Paterson — have already passed similar laws at the urging of activist groups like the labor-union-aligned New Jersey Working Families Alliance. Proponents have… -
A better solution to the minimum-wage debate
September 2014 · Michael Saltsman · Crain's Chicago Business
This fall, Illinois voters will consider a nonbinding referendum on whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $10 an hour from its current $8.25. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has asked whether an even higher city-specific minimum wage would also be appropriate. Both the state and the city are posing the wrong question. Illinois policymakers and voters shouldn’t be talking about whether to raise the minimum wage…