When you earn minimum wage, this is a serious pay cut.
Despite sound economic research showing that good base wages have positive effects on businesses, workers and the economy, attacks on Washington’s minimum wage surface year after year – 2012 was no exception.
On January 31, the House Labor and Workforce Development Committee heard testimony on several bills that would cut the paychecks of Washington’s lowest-wage workers. Representative Condotta, who introduced the bills, noted that he doesn’t have empirical evidence to support them but rather, “on the ground” experience: “We can talk about theories and we can listen to all the think tanks talk about what they have to say – I’m on the ground.”
It’s not a big surprise to see minimum wage detractors fail to acknowledge research that undermines their arguments. But it is frustrating to see them ignore the real “on the ground” struggles of people trying to get by on the minimum wage – like the people who came forward to share their stories at Tuesday’s hearing: Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: minimum wage, Cary Condotta, Economic Opportunity Institute, economic policy institute, Illinois, living wage, low-wage, Washington, work
