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EITC vs. Minimum Wage: Where Should Advocates Place Their Bets?
January 2011 · Michael Saltsman · Spotlight on Poverty
The best way to lift people out of poverty is to help businesses grow and create jobs. But while a rising tide of economic prosperity can reduce poverty, it won’t end it. There’s general agreement that government has a role to play in helping the less fortunate. But it should do so with an eye to minimizing unintended consequences—which is why it’s time to reevaluate the minimum… -
A Consensus In Favor Of Wage Mandates?
January 2011 · Rick Berman · Investor's Business Daily
Liberal advocacy groups who argue in favor of a higher minimum wage have a tough job: Faced with mountains of data countering their argument that wage mandates don’t cost jobs, they struggle to find their intellectual footing. They often display a Potemkin village of 665 economists who subscribe to a theory that suggests labor costs don’t factor into hiring decisions. First compiled and promoted by the union-backed… -
Government Wage Keeps Teens Out Of Work
January 2011 · Michael Saltsman · Tennessean
If you hopped into a time machine — De Lorean or hot tub, doesn’t matter which — and traveled back to a fast-food operation at the start of the past decade, you’d probably notice something different, but you might have a hard time putting your finger on it. Prices might be marginally lower, but that probably won’t be what’s bothering you; a value menu is a value… -
The Job Market For Teens Is Terrible
January 2011 · Michael Saltsman · Birmingham News
If you hopped into a time machine — DeLorean or hot tub, doesn’t matter which — and traveled back to a fast-food operation at the start of the decade, you’d probably notice something different, but you might have a hard time putting your finger on it. Prices might be marginally lower, but that probably won’t be what’s bothering you: a value menu is a value menu, after… -
The Grinch That Stole Holiday Jobs
December 2010 · Michael Saltsman · Connecticut Post
You might have the best kids in the world — the kind that get straight A’s and do their chores. But they’re more likely to get a lump of coal than find a job this holiday season. Winter break has always been an opportunity for teens to make a few extra bucks. But job-searching teens that had a blue Christmas in 2008 and 2009 have little reason… -
Minimum Wage Doesn’t Pay
December 2010 · Michael Saltsman · Wenatchee World
A new year and a new legislative session approach. And with the new year comes a new minimum wage: Indexed to inflation, Washington’s minimum wage will increase to $8.67 an hour on Jan. 1. Advocates for a higher minimum wage will often tell you that increases have no effect on the employment rates of low-skilled workers and that these wage mandates act as a “shot in the…