Full Page Ad in Wall Street Journal Debunks Claim that Minimum Wage is a Wedge Issue
Points to new battleground state polling showing that most voters don’t judge candidates on minimum wage position
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Publication Date: September 2016
Washington D.C. – Today the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) placed a full-page ad in the Washington D.C. edition of the Wall Street Journal refuting the claim that the minimum wage is a wedge issue that could make the difference in key battleground states on Election Day. The ad references how minimum wage proponents made this same prediction in 2014 and failed spectacularly.
View the ad here. EPI also has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal making the case for a minimum wage alternative that skeptics of a wage hike can rally behind. Read the op-ed here.
In 2014, minimum wage proponents promoted a poll by left-leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) to argue that minimum wage could be a “decisive issue” in that year’s election. But in each of the six battleground states polled by PPP — Illinois, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Iowa, Kentucky, and Louisiana – the candidate who was opposed to or skeptical of a minimum wage increase won.
New EPI/Google Consumer Surveys polling of 500 people who plan to vote in each of the seven battleground states indicates why the minimum wage does not impact election outcomes. The poll finds that most voters do not make decisions based on candidates’ position on the minimum wage. Seven out of ten respondents poll respondents indicated that a candidate’s opposition to a minimum wage increase would have no impact on their vote, or would increase their likelihood to support a candidate.
Michael Saltsman of the EPI noted, “While labor union-backed activists argue that minimum wage is a wedge issue that could make the difference in voting, polling and history suggest labor activists have reality upside down”.
For more information, visit EPIOnline.org. To schedule an interview, contact Jordan Bruneau at (202) 463-7650 or bruneau@epionline.
The Employment Policies Institute is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth. In particular, EPI focuses on issues that affect entry-level employment. EPI receives support from restaurants, foundations, and individuals.
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