Conservative Myths on Minimum Wage Have Dangerous Implications
Duncan Hosie, Huff Post Politics: Conservative Myths on Minimum Wage Have Dangerous Implications | Duncan Hosie
By increasing consumer spending and productivity, reducing worker turnover, and lifting millions of out poverty, raising the minimum wage creates jobs.
Ultimately, paying people more than poverty wages doesn’t just help workers. It strengthens the foundation of our economy and paves the way for growth.
But don’t expect the Republicans running for President to change their positions and rhetoric. Minimum wage policy is one of many areas in which they are out of step with empirical evidence. United by their aversion to facts, they deny everything from the scientific consensus on climate change to the enduring failure of supply-side economics.
Yet there are real consequences to letting wages stagnate for the working poor. Millions will be left in poverty. Thousands of small businesses will face debilitating job turnover costs. As the next President prepares his or her agenda, we shouldn’t let extreme rhetoric and outdated thinking distract from the economic and moral imperatives of raising the minimum wage.