June 3, 2022

Even Pushed Back, A $15 Wage in Michigan Will Slash Jobs, Earnings

This week, organizers of the Raise the Wage MI proposal to increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 by 2027 and eliminate the tip credit failed to clear the signature requirement to move the ballot measure closer to voters in November. Instead, One Fair Wage, the nonprofit associated with…
May 27, 2022

Restaurants’ inflation problem means tipped wage hikes will cause more pain, not less

Inflation is still soaring after hitting a four-decade-high earlier this year, and causing problems all around for restaurants trying to bounce back after the pandemic. Activists’ demands to raise tipped minimum wages and eliminate tip credits across the country would exacerbate these issues. While operation costs such as food,…
May 20, 2022

Too Good to be True: Economists Confirm Minimum Wages Hikes Cause Significant Employment Loss

Despite the bulk of economic evidence pointing to significant job losses as the result of minimum wage hikes, lawmakers in favor of raising minimum wages to $15 per hour and beyond have clung to one study in particular claiming minimum wage hikes don’t negatively affect employment. Now, economists reevaluating…
May 13, 2022

Democrats’ Productivity Argument for Raising Minimum Wage Mandates Just Got A Reality Check

Surrounded by a multitude of evidence that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 is an irresponsible, job-killing idea, some politicians seem to hold onto any argument they can find in favor of dramatic wage increases. One such idea is the federal minimum wage should be tied to labor productivity…
May 6, 2022

Other states shouldn’t follow Hawaii’s $18 example

As state legislative sessions wrap up and ballot measures are shaping up for the fall, it’s becoming increasingly clear that a $15 per hour wage target is old news for unions and activists. Now, states are moving toward more extreme wage hikes: Hawaii’s legislature just approved an $18 per…
April 29, 2022

Survey: Majority of Economists Believe $15 Wage is Too High

A new survey by Carnegie Mellon University professor Lloyd Corder for the Employment Policies Institute found a significant majority of responding economists oppose raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. In fact, a plurality (43%) agreed the wage should be the current federal rate of $7.25 per hour…
April 22, 2022

New Data: Share of Hourly Workers Earning Federal Minimum Wage at Four-Decade Low

A new report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the share of hourly-paid workers earning the federal minimum wage or less dipped to 1.4% in 2021. This is the smallest proportion of hourly workers earning the federal minimum wage since 1980, when the share was more than…
April 15, 2022

WH Economic Report Cherry Picks Research to Support Minimum Wage Hike

This week, the White House released its annual economic report by the president’s Council of Economic Advisors – and supported raising the federal minimum wage as one of its solutions for boosting the economy. To argue this, the White House report hand picks a few sympathetic studies to make the case for raising the…
April 6, 2022

New Study: Tip Percentages are Higher In States with Larger Tip Credits

Cornell University professor Michael Lynn published a new study revealing a “cautionary, yellow flag” to activists trying to reduce or eliminate tip credits. Through a survey with nearly 900 responses, Lynn found consumers were more likely to tip higher (by percentage) in states with larger tip…
April 1, 2022

New Study: Three Quarters of Minimum Wage Earners Get a Raise Within 1-12 Months

A new study by economists Jeffrey Clemens (University of California, San Diego) and Michael Strain (American Enterprise Institute) finds time on the job, not wage mandates, drives increased earnings for employees. Proponents of a nation-wide minimum wage hike, up to $15 per hour or more, often argue in favor of…