See, now this is some good left-wing media bias. In an article on statewide efforts to raise the minimum wage, The New York Times represents workers with this fresh-faced, busy picture of Heather Uhrig:
While the employers are led by Rick Cassara, who, after the photo shoot, dashed off to lash a young maiden to the railroad tracks: While the employers are led by Rick Cassara, who, after the photo shoot, dashed off to lash a young maiden to the railroad tracks:
See? Now that's what I'm talking about. Girl next door vs. Snidely Whiplash, as it should be. The rest of the article is interesting too, though a bit standard. The minimum wage arguments are old hat: supported by voters, opposed by business, and buffeted by overstated claims of economic decimation and/or redemption, neither of which are likely. What is clear is that minor increases in the minimum wage essentially do no damage to the job market, and may in fact prove helpful (see this See? Now that's what I'm talking about. Girl next door vs. Snidely Whiplash, as it should be. The rest of the article is interesting too, though a bit standard. The minimum wage arguments are old hat: supported by voters, opposed by business, and buffeted by overstated claims of economic decimation and/or redemption, neither of which are likely. What is clear is that minor increases in the minimum wage essentially do no damage to the job market, and may in fact prove helpful (see this EPI paper for more on that). Clinton's 1996 boost to $5.15, which covered almost 10 million workers, was a broader raise than anything being seriously contemplated now, and it preceded one of the most remarkable economic expansions in American history. So business, basically, is full of it on this one, though it's hard to blame them for wanting to keep their payroll down. Also interesting is the article's focus on statewide efforts to raise the wage, many of them through ballot initiatives. Democrats are attempting to make this their gay marriage, and John Edwards, an enthusiastic and public backer of these efforts, stands to reap quite a bit of good press and populist bona fides if the effort succeeds. Hopefully, if Edwards proves it viable, national Democrats will take up the issue. I'd like to the DCCC anchor their national platform with a proposal creating an automatically advancing minimum wage, potentially tied to productivity increases (which I think more intuitive and sellable than inflation) -- that's the sort of durable Democratic program which is both a Big Idea and an important one. There's a political counterargument there that progressives stand to reap more by replaying this battle every couple of years, but it's breathtakingly cynical. In any case, I'll have more on that, and similar ideas, in the February issue of TAP.
