Supporters of a low minimum wage are always predicting economic doom if it's raised. But there are some
very obvious answers to that. Like Washington state, which raised its minimum wage in 1998, tying it to inflation so that it goes up regularly:
In the 15 years that followed, the state’s minimum wage climbed to $9.32—the highest in the country. Meanwhile job growth continued at an average 0.8 percent annual pace, 0.3 percentage point above the national rate. Payrolls at Washington’s restaurants and bars, portrayed as particularly vulnerable to higher wage costs, expanded by 21 percent. Poverty has trailed the U.S. level for at least seven years.
So, above-average job growth, including in the low-wage restaurant industry, and below-average poverty. Good thing we have Republicans and restaurant industry lobbyists saving us from this horror at the national level.
Sign the petition: Thank President Obama and join the call for a higher minimum wage.