"Boosting the minimum wage leads to job losses, and higher prices for consumers. Getty Images Albany Democrats - and Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani - grouse about affordability, but ignore how their own policies are making New York city and state so expensive. Feature, say, the jump on January 1 in the minimum wage at New York City, to $17 an hour. The statewide floor will rise to $16 per hour."
"Feature what happened in 2024 when California raised to $20 an hour the minimum wage for fast-food restaurant employees. It was one of the biggest jumps in the minimum wage in American history, the Cato Institute reported. Even before the increase went into effect, per the Wall Street Journal, employees faced layoffs and cuts to their workdays. Cato in November found that the state's attempt to set the price of labor had led to 18,000 lost jobs."
"Attempts to nudge the wages for low-skill labor like fast food or retail jobs often prompt employers to, say, replace cashiers with computerized kiosks - to the detriment of customer service. Consumers, too, bear the burden of these swollen salaries when employers pass the higher cost along by raising prices. Yet this only goes so far, as one McDonald's franchise owner, Scott Rodrick, tells the Journal: "I can't charge $20 for Happy Meals.""
In New York the statewide minimum wage will rise to $16 per hour and New York City to $17, up from $9 in 2015. Raising the minimum wage is associated with job losses and higher consumer prices. At least 22 states are poised to raise minimum wages in 2026, including Hawaii to $16 and Florida to $15 after a voter amendment. California's 2024 fast-food $20 minimum wage produced layoffs and reduced hours and, according to Cato, about 18,000 lost jobs. Employers often replace low-skill workers with kiosks, reducing service quality, while businesses pass higher labor costs to consumers.
Read at The New York Sun
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]