Chain Store Age magazine recently posted a poll on their website asking readers if they supported raising the minimum wage to $10.10.
As of Saturday evening, CSA readers were split 51 to 49 percent in favor, and 13 states as of Dec. 23 were planning to raise their minimum wage thresholds, according to a story from The Huffington Post.
Wisconsin residents seem to be in favor of a hike, too. According to the results of the most recent Marquette University Law School poll, 62 percent of surveyed registered voters support a hike in the minimum wage even when respondents were reminded that some businesses might cut jobs.
Last month, Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, introduced Wisconsin’s Fair Minimum Wage Act. If the bill is signed into law, employees across the state would get an immediate boost to $8.20 per hour, rising gradually to $10.10 per hour. Mason was joined by 45 co-sponsors in both the Assembly and the Senate, none of whom are Republicans.
The State of Washington will have the highest minimum wage at $9.34 per hour, but several cities and counties are also planning to give the bottom hourly wage a boost including San Francisco, which is going up to $10.74. The State of Kentucky has a bill under consideration to raise workers’ wage threshold to $10.10 over three years, but there could be Republican push-back in the Senate while the Democratically controlled Kentucky House is almost sure to give its OK.
So, Racine County Eye, should Wisconsin also have a minimum wage of $10.10?
If we fix the economy, we won’t need to raise the minimum wage.
While all of us should do what we can to help our fellow citizens, artificially boosting wages, regardless of skill, does just the opposite. Sure, there is a temporary increase in income for some, but over time those less able to produce will find the result leaves them further behind. Additionally, technology offers automation that becomes more affordable as wages are increased for less skilled positions. It is why you see self check out lines at the grocer, and sophisticated equipment in manufacturing.
The people that lack the understanding of how economics works, like Cory Mason, should review their own behavior to realize how damaging it is to intrude the marketplace with mandates, subsidies, and undue regulation. If you were to mandate that hot dogs cost the same as lobster, it wouldn’t take long before the price of lobster would go up, and sales for hot dogs would go down.
I’m not sure why people who invest in effort that makes them more valuable in the marketplace fail to understand these simple principles.