Top Economists Who Back Bernie Sanders Plan for $15/hr Minimum Wage

[Cheese Sandwich]

Last edited Sat Jul 25, 2015, 04:19 AM - Edit history (2)

(Institutional listing for identification purposes only):

1. Randy Albelda, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Boston
2. Lluis Rodriguez Algans, CNT Trade Union
3. Peter Arno, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Lehman College, City University of New York
4. Michael Ash, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
5. M.V. Lee Badget, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
6. Brook K. Baker, J.D., Northeastern University School of Law
7. Nesecan Balkan, Ph.D., Hamilton College
8. Avraham Baranes, Ph.D., Rollins College
9. David Barkin, Ph.D., Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco
10. Deepankar Basu, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
11. Lourdes Benería, Ph.D., Cornell University
12. Peter H. Bent, University of Massachusetts-Amherst and University of Oxford
13. Cyrus Bina, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
14. Ron Blackwell, Chief Economist, AFL-CIO (Retired)
15. Marc Blecher, Ph.D., Oberlin College (Department of Politics)
16. Eileen Boris, Ph.D., University of California-Santa Barbara (Feminist Studies)
17. Howard Botwinick, Ph.D., State University of New York-Cortland
18. Roger Even Bove, Ph.D., West Chester University
19. James K. Boyce, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
20. Michael Brün, Ph.D., Illinois State University
21. Robert Buchele, Ph.D., Smith College
22. Antonio Callari, Ph.D., Franklin and Marshall College
23. Al Campbell, Ph.D., University of Utah
24. Jim Campen, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Boston
25. Michael Carter, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Lowell
26. Scott Carter, Ph.D., The University of Tulsa
27. Shouvik Chakraborty, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
28. John Chasse, Ph.D., State University of New York, Brockport
29. Ying Chen, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
30. Robert Chernomas, Ph.D., University of Manitoba
31. Kimberly Christensen, Ph.D., Sarah Lawrence College
32. Alan B. Ciblis, Ph.D., Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento
33. Peter Cole, Ph.D., Western Illinois University
34. Bruce E. Collier, Ph.D., Association for Social Economics
35. James Crotty, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
36. Jane D’Arista, Political Economy Research Institute
37. Flavia Dantas, Ph.D., SUNY - Cortland
38. Paul Davidson, Ph.D., University of Tennessee
39. Erik Dean, Ph.D., Portland Community College
40. Carmen Diana Deere, Ph.D., University of Florida
41. George DeMartino, Ph.D., University of Denver
42. Gregory DeFreitas, Ph.D., Hofstra University
43. Alan Derickson, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University (Professor of Labor Studies and History)
44. James G. Devine, Ph.D., Loyola Marymount University
45. G. William Domhoff, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Cruz
46. Peter Dreier, Ph.D., Occidental College (Distinguished Professor of Politics)
47. Thomas L. Dublin, Ph.D., State University of New York, Binghampton (Distinguished Professor of History)
48. Gary Dymski, Ph.D., Leeds University Business School
49. Peter Dorman, Ph.D., Evergreen State College
50. Veronika V. Eberharter, Ph.D., University of Innsbruck
51. Barry Eldin, Ph.D., McGill University (Department of Sociology)
52. Gerald Epstein, Ph.D, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
53. Rudy Fichtenbaum, Ph.D., Wright State University
54. Deborah M. Figart, Ph.D., Stockton University
55. Alfredo Saad Filho, Ph.D., University of London
56. Andrew M. Fischer, Ph.D., Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam
57. Nancy Folbre, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
58. Gerald Friedman, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
59. Kevin Furey, , Chemeketa Community College
60. James K. Galbraith, Ph.D., University of Texas-Austin
61. John Luke Gallup, Ph.D., Portland State University
62. Ina Ganguli, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
63. Jorge Garcia-Arias, Ph.D., University of Leon
64. Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
65. Armağan Gezici, Ph.D., Keene State College
66. G. Reza Ghorashi, Ph.D., Stockton University
67. Helen Lachs Ginsburg, Ph.D., Brooklyn College – City University of New York
68. Jonathan P. Goldstein, Ph.D., Bowdoin College
69. April Gordon, Winthrop University
70. Ilene Grabel, Ph.D., University of Denver
71. Jerry Gray, Ph.D., Willamette University
72. Josh Greenstein, Ph.D., Hobart and William Smith Colleges
73. Daphne Greenwood, Ph.D., University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
74. Winston Griffith, Ph.D., Howard University
75. Christopher Gunn, Ph.D, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
76. Robert Guttman, Ph.D., Hofstra University
77. Robin Hahnel, Ph.D., American University, Portland State University
78. Eric Hake, Ph.D., Catawba College
79. Martin Hart-Landsberg, Ph.D., Lewis and Clark College
80. Lisa Henderson, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Professor of Communications)
81. John F. Henry, Ph.D., University of Missouri-Kansas City
82. Arturo Hermann, Italian National Institute of Statistics
83. Joan Hoffman, Ph.D., John Jay College of Criminal Justice
84. Candace Howes, Ph.D., Connecticut College
85. Michael Hudson, Ph.D., University of Missouri, Kansas City
86. Russell Janis, Ph.D, J.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
87. Tae-Hee Jo, Ph.D., State University of New York, Buffalo State
88. Laurie Johnson, Ph.D., New York University
89. Fadhel Kaboub, Ph.D., Denison University
90. Rebecca E. Karl, Ph.D., History Department, New York University
91. Mousa H. Kassis, Youngstown State University
92. Farida C. Khan, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Parkside
93. Mary C. King, Ph.D., Portland State University
94. Tim Koechlin, Ph.D., Vassar College
95. David Laibman, Ph.D., Brooklyn College and Graduate School, City University of New York
96. Thomas Lambert, Ph.D., Northern Kentucky University
97. Margaret Levenstein, Ph.D., University of Michigan
98. Oren M. Levin-Waldman, Ph.D., Metropolitan College of New York
99. Ariana R. Levinson, Ph.D., University of Louisville (Labor and Employment Law Professor)
100. Victor D. Lippit, Ph.D., University of California, Riverside
101. Paul Lockard, Ph.D., Black Hawk College
102. Daniel MacDonald, Ph.D., California State University San Bernadino
103. Allan MacNeill, Ph.D., Webster University
104. Mark Maier, Ph.D., Glendale Community College
105. Arthur MacEwan, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston
106. Ann Markusen, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
107. J.W. Mason, Ph.D., John Jay College, City University of New York and Roosevelt Institute
108. Patrick Mason, Ph.D., Florida State University
109. Peter Hans Matthews, Ph.D., Middlebury College
110. Peter B. Mayer, Ph.D., University of Louisville
111. Terrence McDonough, Ph.D., National University of Ireland Galway
112. Michael Meeropol, Ph.D., Western New England University
113. Martin Melkonian, Hofstra University
114. Dennis Merrill, Ph.D., University of Missouri-Kansas City
115. Thomas Michl, Ph.D., Colgate University
116. Marcelo Milan, Ph.D., Federal University of Rio Grade do Sul
117. William Milberg, Ph.D., New School for Social Research
118. John Miller, Ph.D., Wheaton College
119. Paul Morse, University of Massachusetts Lowell
120. Fred Moseley, Ph.D., Mount Holyoke College
121. Philip I. Moss, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Lowell
122. Tracy Mott, Ph.D., University of Denver
123. Michael J. Murray, Ph.D., Bemidji State University
124. Léonce Ndikumana, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
125. Don Negri, Ph.D., Willamette University
126. Julie A. Nelson, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Boston
127. Reynold F. Nesiba, Ph.D., Augustana College, Sioux Falls
128. Eric Nilsson, Ph.D., California State University, San Bernadino
129. Michael Nuwer, Ph.D., State University of New York, Potsdam
130. Erik Olsen, Ph.D., University of Missouri Kansas City
131. Spencer J. Pack, Ph.D., Connecticut College
132. Aaron Pacitti, Ph.D., Siena College
133. Zhaochang Peng, Ph.D., Rollins College
134. Kenneth R. Peres, Ph.D., retired, Communications Workers of America
135. Joseph Persky, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago
136. Karen Pfeifer, Ph.D., Smith College
137. Xuan Pham, Ph.D., Rockhurst University
138. Bruce Pietrykowski, Ph.D., University of Michigan-Dearborn
139. Frances Fox Piven, Ph.D., Graduate Center, City University of New York
140. Robert Pollin, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
141. Mary Louise Pratt, Ph.D., New York University (Department of Social and Cultural Analysis)
142. Paddy Quick, Ph.D., St. Francis College
143. Devin T. Rafferty, Ph.D., St. Peter’s University
144. Laura Reed, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst
145. Robert Reich, University of California Berkeley
146. Felipe Rezende, Ph.D., Hobart and William Smith Colleges
147. Carl Riskin, Ph.D., Queens College, City University of New York
148. Judith Robinson, Ph.D., Castleton State College
149. Sergio Romero, PhD, Department of Sociology, Boise State University
150. Andrew Ross, Ph.D., New York University
151. Robert J.S. Ross, Ph.D., Clark University (Department of Sociology)
152. Mario Seccareccia, Ph.D., University of Ottawa
153. Malcolm Sawyer, Ph.D., University of Leeds
154. Matías Scaglione, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison (Department of Sociology)
155. Helen Scharber, Ph.D., Hampshire College
156. Geoff Schneider, Ph.D., Bucknell University
157. Juliet B. Schor, Ph.D., Boston College
158. Elliot Sclar, Ph.D., Columbia University
159. Carol Scotton, Ph.D., Knox College
160. Stephanie Seguino, Ph.D., University of Vermont
161. Alla Semenova, Ph.D., State University of New York - Potsdam
162. Anwar Shaikh, Ph.D., New School for Social Research
163. Zoe Sherman, Ph.D., Merrimack College
164. Nathan Sivers-Boyce, Ph.D., Willamette University
165. Bryan Snyder, Bentley University
166. Peter Spiegler, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
167. Janet Spitz, Ph.D., The College of Saint Rose
168. Howard Stein, Ph.D., University of Michigan
169. Mary Huff Stevenson, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston
170. Frank Thompson, Ph.D., University of Michigan
171. Chris Tilly, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
172. Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
173. E. Ahmet Tonak, Ph.D., Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey
174. Mayo C. Toruño, Ph.D., California State University, San Bernadino
175. Eric Tymoigne, Ph.D., Lewis & Clark College
176. Hendrik Van den Berg, Ph.D., University of Nebraska and Mount Holyoke College
177. William Van Lear, Ph.D., Belmont Abbey College
178. Irene van Staveren, Ph.D., Erasmus University Rotterdam
179. Roberto Veneziani, Ph.D., Queen Mary University of London
180. Eric Verhoogen, Ph.D., Columbia University
181. Matías Vernengo, Ph.D., Bucknell University
182. Stephen Viederman, Consultant
183. William T. Waller, Ph.D., Hobart and William Smith Colleges
184. John P. Watkins, Ph.D., Westminster College
185. John Weeks, Ph.D., University of London
186. Cathy Whiting, Ph.D., Willamette University
187. Jeannette Wicks-Lim, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst
188. John Willoughby, Ph.D., American University
189. Tamar Diana Wilson, Ph.D., University of Missouri, St. Louis
190. Jon D. Wisman, Ph.D., American University
191. Judith Wittner, Ph.D., Loyola University (Emeritus Professor of Sociology)
192. Michael Wolff, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst (VictorianStudies)
193. Martin Wolfson, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame
194. L. Randy Wray, Ph.D., Bard College and University of Missouri-Kansas City
195. Zhun Xu, Ph.D., Howard University
196. Ben Young, Ph.D., University of Missouri at Kansas City
197. June Zaccone, Ph.D., Hofstra University
198. David Zalewski, Ph.D., Providence College
199. Roland Zullo, Ph.D., University of Michigan
200. Alex Binder, Franklin & Marshall College
201. Yan Liang, Ph.D., Willamette University
202. Scott McConnell, Ph.D., Eastern Oregon University
203. Stephen Cullenberg, Ph.D., University of California-Riverside
204. Thomas Weisskopf, University of Michigan
205. James Heintz, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Amherst

source: http://www.budget.senate.gov/democratic/public/_cache/files/89efe4b6-8934-4375-bc96-758fcc791622/minimum-wage-petition-july-21.pdf

ECONOMISTS IN SUPPORT OF A $15 U.S. MINIMUM WAGE AS OF 2020

We, the undersigned professional economists, favor an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as of 2020. The federal minimum wage is presently $7.25, and was most recently increased in 2009. We also support intermediate increases over the current federal minimum between now and 2020, such as a first-step raise to $10.50 an hour as of 2016.

The real, inflation-adjusted, value of the federal minimum wage has fallen dramatically over time. The real value of the federal minimum wage peaked in 1968 at 10.85 an hour, 50 percent above the current level. Moreover, since 1968, average U.S. labor productivity has risen by roughly 140 percent. This means that, if the federal minimum wage had risen in step with both inflation and average labor productivity since 1968, the federal minimum wage today would be $26.00 an hour. (References for all data cited in this petition can be found here: http://www.peri.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/resources/Technical_Appendix_15_Minimum.pdf)

If a worker today is employed full time for a full 52-week year at a minimum wage job today, she or he is making $15,080. This is 21 percent below the official poverty line for a family of three. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would deliver much needed living standard improvements to 76 million U.S. workers and their families. The average age for these workers is 36 years old and they have been in the labor force for an average of 17 years. Only 6 percent of the workers who would benefit from this minimum wage increase are teenagers; i.e., 94 percent are adults.

Numerous states and municipalities throughout the United States are already operating with minimum wage standards above the $7.25 federal minimum. Thus, 29 states plus Washington, DC maintain minimum wages between $7.50 and $9.50. These measures cover 61 percent of the U.S. population. The cities of Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco have all established $15 minimum wage standards that, for all three cases, will be fully phased in as of 2021. A $13 minimum wage will be operating in Chicago as of 2019. Other cities, including New York and Washington, DC, are presently considering similar measures. The State of New York is also examining a $15 minimum wage proposal for the fast-food industry.

Opponents of minimum wage increases frequently argue that such measures will mean fewer employment opportunities for low-wage workers because businesses will be less willing to hire workers at the increased wage level. But the weight of evidence from the extensive professional literature has, for decades, consistently found that no significant effects on employment opportunities result when the minimum wage rises in reasonable increments. This is because the increases in overall business costs resulting from a minimum wage increase are, for the most part, modest.

We recognize that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as of 2020 would entail an increase that is significantly above the typical pattern with federal minimum wage increases. Nevertheless, through a well-designed four-year phase-in process, businesses will be able to absorb the cost increases through modest increases in prices and productivity as well as enabling low-wage workers to receive a slightly larger share of businesses’ total revenues. On average, even fast-food restaurants, which employ a disproportionate share of minimum wage workers, are likely to see their overall business costs increase by only about 2.8 percent per year through a four-year phase in to a $15 federal minimum wage by 2020. That means, for example, that McDonalds could cover fully half of the cost increase by raising the price of a Big Mac, on average, by 7 cents per year for four years—i.e. from $4.80 to $5.08. The remaining half of the adjustment could come through small productivity gains or a modestly more equal distribution of the increase in revenues generated by the U.S. economy’s overall rate of economic growth.

The economy overall will benefit from the gains in equality tied to the minimum wage increase and related policy initiatives. Greater equality means working people have more spending power, which in turn supports greater overall demand in the economy. Greater equality also means less money is available to flow into the types of hyper-speculative financial practices that led to the 2008-09 Wall Street crash and subsequent Great Recession.

Moreover, the overwhelming factor determining employment opportunities for low-wage workers is macroeconomic conditions—whether the economy is growing or in a recession. Thus, in 1968, when the U.S. minimum wage reached $10.85 in real dollars, the overall unemployment rate was 3.6 percent. By contrast, during the depths of the 1982 recession, the real value of the minimum wage had fallen to $8.22 while unemployment peaked at 10.8 percent.

In short, raising the federal minimum to $15 an hour by 2020 will be an effective means of improving living standards for low-wage workers and their families and will help stabilize the economy. The costs to other groups in society will be modest and readily absorbed.

source: http://www.budget.senate.gov/democratic/public/index.cfm/2015/7/top-economists-are-backing-sen-bernie-sanders-on-establishing-a-15-an-hour-minimum-wage


edit: changed title

[think]

2. I'm not a PHD but as I look out my window the economy looks just fine.....

[Cheese Sandwich]

14. I have got a ground hog living outside my window now

He seems to be doing well

[think]

16. Yep. Why do we need these over paid economist elitist snobs?

The ground hog is doing just fine without them for crying out loud....

[Cheese Sandwich]

17. Reminds me of this...

Everything seems great outside someone's kitchen window, other people are struggling...different viewpoints

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251472806

[think]

18. Very cool. Certainly illustrates how their can be such a difference in perspective sometimes.

[SunSeeker]

3. They don't "back Bernie Sanders," they just support raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2020.

Their resolution does not mention Bernie Sanders.

[Cheese Sandwich]

4. They support his plan to phase in a $15 min wage in increments by 2020

This was the title from the Senate Budget Committee site:
Top Economists Are Backing Sen. Bernie Sanders on Establishing a $15 an Hour Minimum Wage

On July 21 Sanders introduced legislation for a $15/Hour minimum wage. According to his Senate office press release, "more than 200 economists and labor experts released a letter endorsing Sanders’ legislation."

WASHINGTON, July 22 – Addressing hundreds of low-wage workers who have gone on strike for a living wage, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said legislation he introduced today would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

“It is a national disgrace that millions of full-time workers are living in poverty and millions more are forced to work two or three jobs just to pay their bills,” Sanders said at the outdoor rally near the Capitol. “In the year 2015, a job must lift workers out of poverty, not keep them in it. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage and must be raised to a living wage.”

Sanders said he was proud to stand with Good Jobs Nation and the Fight for 15 organizations, groups which have put a spotlight on the need to raise the minimum wage and helped make the push for better pay a cause that most Americans support.

Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) and other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus sponsored a companion version of the bill in the House to phase in increases in the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) co-sponsored the Senate bill to more than double the $7.25 an hour required under current law and close a loophole that has let employers pay tipped workers just $2.13 an hour.

Sanders also renewed his call for an executive order by President Barack Obama to increase the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $15 an hour and make it easier for them to join a union. In April, Sanders co-signed a letter with Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) calling on the Senate to require Senate contractors to provide a living wage, affordable health care and other benefits to all workers.

The federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009. Increasing the minimum wage would directly benefit 62 million workers who currently make less than $15 an hour, including over half of African-American workers and close to 60 percent of Latino workers. If the minimum wage had kept up with productivity and inflation since 1968, it would be more than $26 an hour today.

Despite resistance by the Republican-run House and Senate, most Americans favor raising the minimum wage. A Hart Research Associates survey in January found that 63 percent of the American people support increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

State and cities are acting on their own. New York’s Wage Board today is expected to approve a new $15 minimum hourly pay for the state’s 200,000 fast food workers. Washington, D.C., and Kansas City, Missouri, are considering raising the wage. Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco already passed ordinances raising their minimum wage to $15 an hour. Twenty-six states already enacted minimum wage increases.

Ahead of the rally, more than 200 economists and labor experts released a letter endorsing Sanders’ legislation. The letter was signed by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich; Robert Pollin of the University of Massachusetts; James Galbraith of the University of Texas; Howard Stein of the University of Michigan and others.

Read a summary of the bill here.

Read a copy of the bill here.

Read Sanders’ statement here.

Source: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sanders-introduces-bill-for-15-an-hour-minimum-wage

If you take a look at the bill Bernie introduced isn't it the same as what these economists back? I changed the OP title for clarity but I think it is true these economists back Bernie Sanders on the $15 min. wage.

[SunSeeker]

5. The Petition does not mention "Bernie's plan." And the Bill is not "Bernie's plan."

The bill was co-sponsored by Markey and Sanders in the Senate and Ellison and Grijalva in the House.

A lot of people have been pushing for a $15 minimum wage. It was not just Bernie's idea.

BTW, this bill will never get past the Republicans in this Congress. It will not even get a hearing, let alone a vote (Republicans know not to get on record voting against minimum wage increases).

Obama's executive orders are about the only way to raise the minimum wage right now.

[Cheese Sandwich]

6. I can tell you whose plan it isn't

Hillary Clinton refuses to support a $15 national minimum wage.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251454450


Hillary Clinton Suggests the Minimum Wage Is a Local Issue
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251460181


Hillary Clinton Isn’t Going As Far As Her Democratic Rivals On Minimum Wage - ABCNews
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251473411


Hillary's plan is a 15% corporate tax break for "profit sharing"?
http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/16/politics/hillary-clinton-tax-credit-profit-sharing/


I wonder if she picked 15% trying to snag the slogan of Fight for 15, 15 Now, and other groups fighting for a $15 wage? Is she trying to co-opt the slogan fight for 15 to mean the fight for a 15% corporate tax credit?

[SunSeeker]

7. Clinton's profit sharing plan stands a chance at increasing wages, unlike that bill. nt

[Cheese Sandwich]

8. That's not just her plan. Other people have been doing corporate tax giveaways for years.

Check the video. She's clearly reading from a prepared text.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/16/politics/hillary-clinton-tax-credit-profit-sharing/

[SunSeeker]

9. The companies must share profits with workers to get the tax break, it is not a "giveaway."

Companies must have an incentive to share profits with their workers or else they won't do it.

[Cheese Sandwich]

10. Slight of hand. Giving with one hand while taking away with the other.

Pandering to corporations to help the working class does not work.

We should help working class families directly, not cater to corporations hoping it will trickle down. They are experts at juggling money around. Money is fungible. They can easily create a scheme that looks like profit sharing on paper to benefit from Hillary's tax giveaway. Kind of like when K-Mart doubles the price of something then puts it on sale for 40% off. Corporations are experts at tax and accounting tricks. Corporations need controls, not this kind of incentive trickery.

[SunSeeker]

11. It will not be a "hope," it will be a requirement.

No profit sharing, no tax break.

[Cheese Sandwich]

13. In Hillary's plan a company could simply give "profit sharing" in place of pay.

They can offer "profit sharing" in place of wage, salary and benefits.

This would result in NO GAIN FOR workers, but a 15% tax giveaway for corporations.

Sounds great until you think about it just one level deep about how business always do.

[LWolf]

12. This is offered in support of the "Pay Workers a Living Wage Act,"

introduced by Sanders.

Jul 21 2015

Summary of $15 an Hour Minimum Wage Bill Introduced by Sen. Sanders
Pay Workers a Living Wage Act

Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)

The Pay Workers a Living Wage Act phases in a $15 minimum wage by 2020 over 5 steps, increasing to $9 in 2016, $10.50 in 2017, $12.00 in 2018, $13.50 in 2019, and $15 in 2020. After 2020, the minimum wage will be indexed to the median hourly wage. The tipped minimum wage will be gradually eliminated.

• No one working full time should be in poverty. It is time to pay workers a living wage of at least $15 an hour.

• Roughly 62 million U.S. workers make less than $15 per hour, including more than 50% of African-American workers and close to 60% of Latino workers. About half (46%) of workers making less than $15 per hour are age 35 or older.

• American workers are among the most productive in the world, but in most industries the share of revenues going to wages has dropped, while the share going to profits has soared. If the minimum wage had been raised since 1968 at the same rate as inflation and productivity -- i.e., the rate at which the average worker produces income for the employer -- it would be $20 per hour.

• Studies have found that if the minimum wage workers saw the same massive increases in income that the richest 1% have had since the 1970s, the lowest-paid worker in America today would be making over $28 an hour.

• Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles have already raised their minimum wage to $15. Similar increases are being considered in other cities and states across the country, including: Washington, DC; Sacramento, CA; Olympia, WA; Kansas City, MO; Delaware; and Massachusetts.

• A national poll released in January 2015 showed that 63% of Americans -- representing all demographics -- support raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.

• The National Employment Law Project (NELP) conducted an extensive review of research and studies related to the impact of a $15 minimum wage. The results showed no negative impact on employment levels or job growth, but a $15 wage would have a substantially positive impact on the local economy, as increased earnings result in boosts to consumer spending, and as businesses benefits from reduced employee turnover and increased productivity and customer satisfaction.

• Specific to the fast food industry, which employs 47% of all minimum wage workers, a University of Massachusetts-Amherst study concluded that an increase to a $15 minimum wage could be fully absorbed by the employers without resorting to cuts in employment levels, lowering the average profit rate, or reallocating funds from other areas of operation.

• U.S. taxpayers are bearing the costs for those employers that are not paying their employees a living wage. Minimum wage workers are enrolled in public assistance programs at more than twice the rate of the overall workforce. More than half of all fast food workers receive public assistance, which cost taxpayers $7 billion in 2013, according to researchers at UC Berkeley’s Labor Center.

• In January 2014, the community of SeaTac, Washington increased their minimum wage to $15. Since then, the unemployment rate in SeaTac has dropped from 6.3% in January 2014 to 4.6% in April 2015. Before the increase, local employers warned that there would be lay-offs and shutdowns as a result; however, many of these same local business owners have instead seen significant growth and expansion since the minimum wage was increased.

Permalink: http://www.budget.senate.gov/democratic/public/index.cfm/2015/7/summary-of-15-an-hour-minimum-wage-bill-introduced-by-sen-sanders

[artislife]

15. When people have more money in their pockets

They should spend as much as they can locally. Keep the money in the community one or two cycles more and the economy improves greatly.

$15 per hour is the least we can do.

[Andy823]

19. O'Malley came out in favor of this in April

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121569/martin-omalleys-15-minimum-wage-puts-hillary-notice


"While a $15 minimum wage has garnered support in different cities and localities across the country, O’Malley is the first major Democratic politician, to my knowledge, to endorse it nationally. Congressional Democrats and the president, for instance, want to raise the minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour, to $10.10 over three years. Over the past few months, Senator Patty Murray has lobbied her Democratic colleagues to support raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. But there’s no support in Congress for a $15 minimum wage."

So I guess maybe these guys were backing him first.