By J.D. Prose
USA Today Network, Pennsylvania State Capital Bureau, May 2, 2021. Also Ellwood City Ledger, York Daily Record, Record Herald, Lebanon Daily News, Wayne Independent, Erie Times-News, Pocono Record, Intelligence/News-Register, others
Attempts to push Congress and the Pennsylvania Legislature to raise the minimum wage have been made sporadically for years....
At $7.25 per hour, Pennsylvania’s minimum wage mirrors the federally required minimum and hasn’t changed since 2010. Congress last adjusted the minimum wage in July 2009. ...
[Gov.] Wolf said raising the minimum wage would put more money into workers’ pockets, which would help businesses, and help reduce employee turnover for business owners. ...
Business for a Fair Minimum Wage cited a 2013 report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) that said the minimum wage has “no discernible effect” on available jobs for low-wage earners. “The most likely reason for this outcome is that the cost shock of the minimum wage is small relative to most firms’ overall costs and only modest relative to the wages paid to low-wage workers,” the report said.
The CEPR also noted some of the same benefits that minimum wage backers now point to, such as increased worker productivity and reduced employee turnover.
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