Full Page Ad Showcases Real-World Consequences of Minimum Wage Hikes

Ad points to unhappy New Year for employees whose opportunities or benefits are reduced because of wage hikes
  • Publication Date: December 2015

  • Topics: Minimum Wage

Washington D.C. — The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) is placing a full-page ad in tomorrow’s New York Postshowcasing the real-world consequences of minimum wage increases. Fourteen states will raise their minimum wages on either December 31st or January 1st, with other increases phasing in at the state and city level in the coming months.

The ad features excerpts from recent news articles detailing the current or future negative effects of state and local wage hikes. EPI has been chronicling such consequences of minimum wage increases at Facesof15.com.

View the ad here.

The ad is titled: “Unhappy New Year?”

It features the following excerpts from recent news articles on consequences from minimum wage increases:

  • “… the pub will eliminate table-busing positions.” – New York Post, 12/26/15
  • “Her new wage now pushed her… over the threshold to qualify for free child care…” – Marketplace, 12/24/15
  • “[The restaurant] has altered its hours to cut down on payroll costs…” – Buffalo News, 12/21/15
  • “We won’t offer part time jobs for students or entry level  into our industry…” – Capitol Hill Seattle, 12/6/15

The text at the bottom reads:

On January 1st, the minimum wage is rising in cities and states around the country, with more increases to come. Instead of reducing the burden on taxpayers, these wage hikes are reducing job opportunities for the least-skilled employees.

The ad is consistent with a new research paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, confirming that past minimum wage increases have measurably reduced job opportunities. EPI recently released a survey conducted by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center finding that nearly three-quarters of U.S.-based economists oppose a $15 federal minimum wage.

“This is an unhappy New Year for entry-level employees who are facing a reduction in job opportunities because of minimum wage increases,” said Michael Saltsman, research director at the Employment Policies Institute. “These real-world effects of minimum wage increases confirm what economists have been saying for decades: Wage hikes have unintended consequences.”