Seemingly good ideas can have unintended consequences. Just ask a sunburned vacationer who decided to take a leisurely nap on the beach.
For New Jersey, the “good idea” that isn’t comes in the form of a proposal to amend the state constitution to raise the minimum wage and put it on autopilot in future years.
The Employment Policies Institute has launched a new campaign that seeks to educate New Jersey residents on the negative impacts of minimum wage hikes. The campaign includes a new television commercial and radio commercial, both of which are running on stations across the state, as well as a new study showing the economic effects a minimum wage hike would have in New Jersey.
The new campaign explains how mandated wage hikes not only force employers to cut costs, resulting in fewer jobs, but also fail to reduce poverty in the state. Neither option helps New Jersey’s employees, especially if the negative consequences are made a permanent part of the state constitution.