$12 Minimum Wage Proposal Expected Shortly In Senate

Some influential Democrats in Congress are pushing for a hike in the minimum wage, and it’s almost certain to become a lively campaign issue at a time when both parties claim to be alarmed about increasing economic inequality. A Republican researcher, quoted in this New York Times article by Noam Scheiber, maintains that although polls do indicate popular support for an increase, support falls off rapidly when you “have a follow-up question and walk them through the consequences,” the presumption being that the consequences would be loss of jobs. Proponents of an increase counter with some studies showing that a modest increase would bring about little or no job loss. According to one liberal analyst, the proposed increase to $12, to be phased in over several years, would result in roughly the same purchasing power as the minimum wage of the late 1960s.