Tuesday, January 14, 2014

EPI: Raising the Federal Minimum Wage Would Lift Wages for Millions and Provide a Modest Economic Boost


At a briefing at the Economic Policy Institute on Tuesday, January 14, 2014, Jason Furman (Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers), Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) and Lawrence Mishel of the EPI  discussed the economic case for raising the federal minimum wage and the path forward to enact the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013.

EPI research shows (see here) the Harkin-Miller bill would give a raise to 27.8 million workers, who would receive about $35 billion in additional wages. A $10.10 minimum wage would increase GDP by $22 billion, creating roughly 85,000 new jobs.

Mind you, raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 is meager...should be at at least $20.00, which would provide more than just a 'modest boost' to the US economy.

1 comment:

  1. Minimum wage on Wall Street: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/wall-street-says-no-really-take-sunday
    Nancy Koehn of Harvard Business School says more than once you have to "blow things up." (thought experiment: What would happen if anyone of Occupy Wall Street had ever said you have to blow things up?)
    Who pays the price for when things get blown up? Who gets the government support following "creative destruction?" What is this strange philosophy? All the people I know who work for a living - which is everyone - have to cooperate and help one another on the job or nothing gets done. What strange morality is Koehn advocating?

    Sen. Harkin should teach up at Harvard. ALL work is valuable.

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