Even rock-ribbed Goldman Sachs has figured it out: WIth several exceptions -- worst among them New Jersey, mired in other problems -- states that raised their minimum wage early this year have enjoyed superior job growth compared to Wisconsin. Republicans are still flogging the move as bad for business and the economy, but so far the preponderance of evidence shows exactly the opposite. And that tracks with previous rounds of state or federal minimum wage hikes. But never mind the facts. Here in Wisconsin, where job growth is still anemic -- the Walkerites are holding firm to their increasingly unjustified and harmful economic theology. But, clearly, it's time to give Wisconsin a raise.
From the NationalMemo.com:
"A Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR) report released last week shows that in the 13 states that increased their minimum wage at the beginning of 2014, job growth was higher than in states that did not. Four states — Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island — had passed legislation to raise the minimum wage, while nine – Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington — automatically did so due to inflation. The CEPR used the average of employment levels from the last five months of 2013 and compared them to the data from the first five months of 2014 to determine the rate of employment growth.
"All but one of those states (New Jersey) saw an increase in employment. The average change for these 13 states was +0.99 percent, while the states that did not raise their minimum wages only had an average change of +0.68 percent. Four (Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Florida) were in the top 10 states that had seen job growth, and nine saw growth above the median rate. New Jersey, however, is in the worst shape in the country, with an 0.56 percent decrease.
"The report is an update on April figures from Goldman Sachs economists, which had also shown the benefits of raising the minimum wage. The author, Ben Wolcott, says the report doesn’t show that an increase necessarily creates jobs, but that it doesn’t have the negative effects on the economy that so many were concerned about."
RootsAction, a progressive advocacy group, aims to do something about this by including Wisconsin its new $15 an Hour in 15 States campaign. Join up at http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=10089
