washington outlook
$15 Minimum Wage is Just the Beginning
Richard S. Davis
A labor-led progressive movement has seized on income inequality
and the minimum wage to launch its political resurgence.
Today’s supporters of a higher minimum wage routinely
invoke income inequality, signaling their larger intent. The
“15 now” chants bouncing off restaurant walls in Seattle and
other metros are rallying cries for a resurgent labor movement.
The wage boost is a hidden tax on employers,
one that falls most heavily on low-margin
small businesses, retailers and restaurants.
see the wage hike as an easy way to deliver a benefit to
constituents without raising taxes, they’re mistaken.
The minimum wage is a hidden tax on employers, one
that falls most heavily on low-margin small businesses,
retailers and restaurants.
a redefinition
But, in a rare departure from the rule, when they say it’s about
the money, it’s not. Not entirely. It’s about political control of the
workplace.
wrong diagnosis, wrong prescription
In promoting a boost in the federal minimum wage — $10.10 is
the magic number — President Obama cited a “dangerous and
growing inequality and lack of upward mobility,” which he calls
the “defining challenge of our time.” No, though union leaders and
progressive activists want to make it the defining issue of the 2014
campaign season.
The fever is contagious. Legislators in 30 states introduced
measures this year to raise the minimum wage. In 21 states and
the District of Columbia the mandatory minimum already exceeds
the federal wage. Washington leads the pack at $9.32.
The presiden 8