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Minimum Wage Increase Hurts Low-Income Families
May 2005 · Craig Garthwaite · Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Raising the minimum wage “destroys jobs,” and the evidence for that “is overwhelming.” The words of a business lobby? Of a self-interested corporation? No, that’s Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan speaking. The debate over raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage has been painted as Republicans vs. Democrats, businesses vs. poor people. Politics aside, economists will tell you that a major problem with raising the minimum wage is that it… -
Hiking minimum wage: Be careful with wish
April 2005 · Craig Garthwaite · Philadelphia Inquirer
As Gov. Rendell and state legislators consider a proposal for a $7 an hour minimum wage, they should also bear in mind Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan’s warning that such a move “prevents people who are at the early stages of their careers… from getting a foothold in the ladder of promotions.” Wage-hike proponents often argue that minimum-wage employees haven’t had a raise since Congress last… -
Minimum wage increase challenged
April 2005 · Craig Garthwaite · Foster's Daily Democrat
“But everyone else is doing it…” If you’ve got teenagers, you may have heard those words used to rationalize everything from raves to body piercings. Even as adults, many find it impossible to resist the siren call of peer pressure. Lawmakers in Concord, for example, are pushing to increase New Hampshire’s minimum wage by nearly 30 percent to bring the state into line with the rest of… -
Wal-Mart bill would hurt low-skill, entry level workers
April 2005 · Craig Garthwaite · Cumberland Times-News
Frustrated by their inability to win key organizing battles, labor unions have turned their attention from the workplace to statehouses across the country. Their most recent target is the state of Maryland, where organized labor is pushing legislation mandating employer-paid health benefits they have been unable win at the negotiating table. The recently debated Maryland Fair Share Act (SB 790/HB 1284) would require employers with more than… -
Wage Hike Won’t Work for Poor
April 2005 · Craig Garthwaite · Boston Herald
Gov. Mitt Romney seems an unlikely candidate for Ted Kennedy’s pinch hitter. Since the senator’s efforts to raise the national minimum wage struck out in Congress, though, Romney has stepped into the batter’s box to endorse proposals that would increase Massachusetts’ minimum wage to more than 60 percent above the current federal rate with annual adjustments for inflation. Although the governor has claimed that a higher minimum… -
Least-skilled workers lose with minimum-wage hike
March 2005 · Craig Garthwaite · Uniontown Herald-Standard
Some lawmakers are hailing a proposed 39% increase in Pennsylvania’s minimum wage as a life preserver for employees struggling in a stormy economic sea. But Harrisburg’s minimum wage bill ensures that the thousands of low-skilled Pennsylvanians who need entry-level employment opportunities will find it even more difficult to stay afloat. The statehouse ought to remember that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan cautioned Congress just last summer against…