Is the minimum wage a winning "wedge" issue? The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) certainly thinks so. Recently, the union announced plans for a massive voter engagement drive for the 2018 election cycle focusing specifically on the Midwest. However, its method of convincing voters to push Democrats into power isn't revolutionary. The union is attempting to turn the minimum wage into a major election issue — yet again. Politicos […]

Call it the $15 question: Who’s the real face of a rising minimum wage in Missouri? An Aug. 28 guest commentary in The Star suggested that the author — an older, college-educated employee supporting a family — was typical of those working in restaurants at the minimum wage. Federal data suggest otherwise: Less than one percent of the restaurant workforce in the Kansas City metro area […]

A new report finding substantial job loss from a proposed $15 minimum wage in Montgomery County has drawn scorn rather than self-reflection from the policy’s supporters. The backlash came primarily from the proposal’s champion, County Council member Marc Elrich (D-At Large), who was none too pleased to see a neutral third party identify the negative consequences. “It’s not a valid study,” he huffed in an interview with The Post. The […]

A minimum wage increase that reduces wages? That’s the conclusion of a major new University of Washington minimum wage study, conducted by a research team funded by the City of Seattle. And it couldn’t come at a worse time for Illinois’ minimum proponents who are hoping Gov. Bruce Rauner will sign the $15 legislation currently on his desk. The study, conducted by a diverse group of experienced economists, […]

The evidence is in, and it's not pretty. This week, the City of Seattle provided a tranche of email records that my organization requested, related to its pro-$15 coordination with a research team at the University of California-Berkeley. (The back-story, for those who are not acquainted with the controversy over a University of Washington report on the city's $15 minimum wage experiment, is available here.) Interested parties can download the […]

Congressional Democrats' new "Better Deal" might be a poll-tested marketing slogan, but the policies behind it will leave many Americans worse off. Need proof? Consider the centerpiece of Democrats' wage-raising package: A 107 percent increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 — double the inflation-adjusted historical minimum wage of $7.40. This component of the plan mirrors Senator Bernie Sanders’ "Raise the Wage Act," and also includes an […]