Krugman: Raise That Wage
Raise That Wage
By PAUL KRUGMAN
President Obama laid out a number of good ideas in his State of the Union address. Unfortunately, almost all of them would require spending money and given Republican control of the House of Representatives, its hard to imagine that happening.
One major proposal, however, wouldnt involve budget outlays: the presidents call for a rise in the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $9, with subsequent increases in line with inflation. The question we need to ask is: Would this be good policy? And the answer, perhaps surprisingly, is a clear yes....the current level of the minimum wage is very low by any reasonable standard. For about four decades, increases in the minimum wage have consistently fallen behind inflation, so that in real terms the minimum wage is substantially lower than it was in the 1960s. Meanwhile, worker productivity has doubled. Isnt it time for a raise?
Now, you might argue that even if the current minimum wage seems low, raising it would cost jobs. But theres evidence on that question lots and lots of evidence, because the minimum wage is one of the most studied issues in all of economics. U.S. experience, it turns out, offers many natural experiments here, in which one state raises its minimum wage while others do not. And while there are dissenters, as there always are, the great preponderance of the evidence from these natural experiments points to little if any negative effect of minimum wage increases on employment.
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So Mr. Obamas wage proposal is good economics. Its also good politics: a wage increase is supported by an overwhelming majority of voters, including a strong majority of self-identified Republican women (but not men). Yet G.O.P. leaders in Congress are opposed to any rise. Why? They say that theyre concerned about the people who might lose their jobs, never mind the evidence that this wont actually happen. But this isnt credible...todays Republican leaders clearly feel disdain for low-wage workers. Bear in mind that such workers, even if they work full time, by and large dont pay income taxes (although they pay plenty in payroll and sales taxes), while they may receive benefits like Medicaid and food stamps. And you know what this makes them, in the eyes of the G.O.P.: takers, members of the contemptible 47 percent who, as Mitt Romney said to nods of approval, wont take responsibility for their own lives.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/18/opinion/krugman-raise-that-wage.html