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Minimum wage increases hurt the poor
February 2009 · Tucson Citizen · Tucson Citizen
It’s been a hard year for owners of small businesses across the country. A car salesman in Arizona told the Reuters news agency that the economy has almost completely dried up sales at the dealership where he worked until he recently lost his job. Todd Gerardo of Gilbert said his layoff was not entirely unexpected. “The economy is just so bad that for the first time in… -
Minimum Wage Indexing Costs Jobs
January 2009 · Kristen Lopez Eastlick · South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Lakeland Ledger
Small businesses across the country endured a hard year in 2008. Northlake Foods, a company in Brandon that owned 90 Waffle House franchises in Florida, was forced to file for bankruptcy protection in September. While rising food expenses and declining sales were eating into the franchises’ bottom lines, it was the cost of labor that ultimately sank the business and put hundreds of people out of work.… -
Indexed wages slam businesses
December 2008 · Kristen Lopez Eastlick · Arizona Daily Star
It’s been a hard year for owners of small businesses across the country. A car salesman in Arizona told Reuters that the economy has almost completely dried up sales at the dealership where he worked until he recently lost his job. Todd Gerardo, of Gilbert, said his layoff was not entirely unexpected. “The economy is just so bad that for the first time in my life I… -
Raising Colorado’s minimum wage could have some unintended consequences
December 2008 · Kristen Lopez Eastlick · Aspen Times
It’s been a hard year for owners of small businesses across the country. In August, eight small-business owners filed suit to prevent Gov. Bill Ritter from enforcing Amendment 42, the legislation that has linked the minimum wage to inflation since 2006. The plaintiffs said because of the amendment, they’ve been forced to raise prices, decrease staff hours, lay off workers, and downsize or eliminate employee benefits altogether.… -
Good intentions don’t make good policy
July 2008 · Rick Berman · San Antonio Express News
Today the national minimum wage will jump from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour. Set to increase 14 months ago, this autopilot law change wields tremendous power and far-reaching effects. Such a policy should be reviewed dispassionately and scientifically. Otherwise, the country could face devastating results. Raising the minimum wage seems like an easy sell: If you pay people more, you reduce poverty. Right? Wrong. Those good intentions… -
Teenagers in South Florida and elsewhere face tough time finding summer jobs
July 2008 · Kristen Lopez Eastlick · South Florida Sun Sentinel
The Independence Day fireworks have burst through the air, marking the mid-point of most Florida teens’ summer vacation. And thanks to misguided politicians, many of them have been spending these summer months in front of the TV rather than waiting tables or scooping ice cream. According to a CNN report, June employment for teenagers dropped nearly 40 percent below 2007 levels and summer hiring for teens was…