This piece was written by a member of our spring Student Council. Look for more work by council members all month long.
While California and New York both recently decided to raise their state minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next several years, only 29 states and Washington have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25. The country remains deeply divided on the issue.
Is raising the minimum wage an effective way to address poverty? Does it reduce social inequality? Or does it hurt the economy and raise unemployment?
In “A $15 Minimum Wage for New York,” The New York Times editorial board rebuts arguments opposing a minimum wage increase:
It is the Republicans who are playing politics. By opposing a $15 minimum, they are currying favor with corporations that keep wages low as a way to keep profits high. They ignore the economic arguments in favor of $15. They also are defying the majority of voters in New York who support it, according to recent polls.
In addition, a $15 minimum in 2021 would meet, not exceed, the benchmarks accepted by most economists. A minimum wage is generally considered adequate if it is equal to at least half of the average hourly wage, which is now about $27 in the state. That means a $30 average wage and a $15 minimum in 2021 would be fair and reasonable.
More important, any amount less than $15 in 2021 would be too little for most workers to live on. According to research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, people in New York’s poorest counties required nearly $10 an hour in 2014 to meet basic living costs. To cover the costs for one adult and one child took at least $22 an hour. To argue against a $15 minimum wage in 2021 is to argue for poverty-level wages.
Interestingly, 30 years ago The Times had a very different stance on this issue. In this 1987 editorial, the editorial board argued the opposite position:
A higher minimum would undoubtedly raise the living standard of the majority of low-wage workers who could keep their jobs. That gain, it is argued, would justify the sacrifice of the minority who became unemployable. The argument isn’t convincing. Those at greatest risk from a higher minimum would be young, poor workers, who already face formidable barriers to getting and keeping jobs.
Many opponents to a higher minimum wage cite the same argument, that it causes employers to hire fewer workers, hurting the very people it intended to help. Teresa Tritch addresses that concern in “Higher Minimum Wage, Faster Job Creation.”
The standard argument against a higher minimum wage is that it will lead to job loss as employers, unable to pay more, lay off current workers or don’t hire new ones.
It’s important to state up front that research and experience don’t bear that out. The minimum wage has been raised many times without hurting employment. Rather than cut jobs, employers have offset the cost of higher minimums through reduced labor turnover. Employers also cope with a higher minimum by giving lower raises further up the wage scale, raising prices modestly or other adjustments.
Students: Read the articles, then tell us:
— Should the government raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour? Should states maintain a minimum wage that keeps workers out of poverty? Do you support the new laws passed in California and New York raising the minimum wage in those states?
— Or do you think there are better ways to diminish poverty? Do you believe the free-market principle of supply and demand should determine wages without government interference?
— Do agree with the 2016 editorial board’s logic that the minimum wage should be half the average hourly wage, and therefore $15 by 2021? Or do you think it should be less or more? Why?
— Economists disagree about whether a higher minimum wage increases unemployment or generates job growth. What do you think? Which argument do you find more convincing?
— Why do you think The New York Times editorial board’s stance regarding the minimum wage has changed over the past three decades?
Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. All comments are moderated by Learning Network staff members, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.