July 10, 2019
Do Democrat Candidates Want $15 Minimum Wage?
Where do the candidates running for U.S. Senate in Colorado stand on a mandatory federal minimum wage increase?
According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis, a federal minimum wage increase to $15 by 2025 (under the Raise the Wage Act) would eliminate up to 3.7 million jobs and result in an almost $9 billion drop in family income.
Mike Johnston has previously been criticized for his support for an across-the-board $15 minimum wage in Colorado.
Where do Johnston, Romanoff and the other U.S. Senate candidates stand on a mandatory federal minimum wage that is projected to cost families $9 billion in just over 5 years?
Research at the University of Washington has shown that increasing the minimum wage in Seattle has hurt low-skill workers who are just getting started in their careers.
“The University of Washington findings, however, suggest that there’s some merit to the usual complaint that gets lodged against minimum-wage hikes — that they’re not only expensive for employers, but threaten to cut the first rung on the career ladder out from under teenagers or others just getting their start in the labor market. “The evidence that we’re picking up is consistent,” says Jacob Vigdor, an economist at the University of Washington. ‘We’re pricing out low-skill workers.’”