Missouri’s Minimum Wage Hike on November Ballot…Good or Bad?
Proposition B, it's on the ballot in November. Is this something that would benefit all concerned, or not?
The way the iniative reads is to raise the minimum wage to $8.65 per hour next year and boost it by $0.85 each year until it reaches $12 per hour in 2023.
According to an article in the Kansas City Star, two groups, Raise Up Missouri and Missouri Business, support the raise in the minimum wage.
As of 2018, the minimum wage in Missouri is $7.85 an hour. So a "yes" vote supports increasing the state's minimum wage each year until reaching $12 in 2023 and then making increases or decreases based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.
The argument from the group, Raise Up Missouri - "No one who works full time should have to live in poverty. Right now, too many Missouri parents who work – often at more than one job – still struggle to put food on the table because they earn just $300 a week. Join our fight to raise Missouri’s minimum wage so parents – not taxpayers- can provide basics like groceries and rent for the 1 in 5 children in Missouri in low-income families."
One of the many opposing arguments is from Karen Buschmann, a spokesperson for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She states the following, "A minimum wage mandate hurts the very people it is intended to help. As the minimum wage increases, the ability of employers to continue to employ workers is damaged, particularly affecting entry-level workers."
What do you think?