skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Economists Urge PA to Raise Minimum Wage

play audio
Play

Friday, March 15, 2019   

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Raising the minimum wage will help all Pennsylvanians, economists and social scientists are telling state lawmakers.

Gov. Tom Wolf has called for raising the state minimum wage to $12 an hour immediately, increasing to $15 an hour by 2025. A letter to the General Assembly signed by almost 40 experts points to a wealth of academic research showing there are few, if any, negative consequences of raising the minimum wage in stages.

According to Mark Price, labor economist with the Keystone Research Center, there would be positive impacts beyond more income for the lowest-paid workers.

"It'll mean that they can spend more money; that'll filter out into the economy and help boost the local economy," he said. "So, it's something that is both good for workers but also good for the larger economy."

By 2025, Price said, a $15 minimum wage would result in $6.5 billion in higher wages for 2 million low-wage Pennsylvania workers. He added that the minimum-wage increases proposed by the governor also would mean fewer people would need to rely on state-funded programs to get by, saving the state money.

"It would save taxpayers around $36 million in Medicaid costs through 2020," Price said, "and another $119 million in 2021."

The letter to lawmakers also suggested phasing out the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers, which has been stuck at just $2.83 an hour since 1998.

Pennsylvania hasn't voted to raise the minimum wage since 2006 and, when adjusted for inflation, it is now almost 30 percent less than it was 50 years ago. Price said there's a simple way to keep the wage gap from growing every year.

"A critical policy that gets us out of this cycle of having to come back every decade or so and advocate to raise the minimum wage is an annual adjustment for the cost of living," he said.

He added that raising the minimum wage also is key to the growth of good-paying, skilled jobs in Pennsylvania.

The open letter is online at keystoneresearch.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021