Economists Express Concerns About Impact of Minimum Wage Hike

The organization opposing the ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage enlists the services of two economists to highlight what they believe would be a negative impact of approval of this proposal. Both economists raised the now-well-known concerns that an increased minimum wage would prompt employers to let go of some low wage earners and other empoyers to put off hiring new employees. University of Missouri-Columbia Economics Professor Michael Podgursky focused his thoughts beyond the immediate minimum wage hike from $5.15 to $6.50 an hour and to the impact of the costs of living increases that are part of the initiative. Missouri State Economics Professor David Mitchell echoes those sentiments, suggesting the indexing of the minimum wage to inflation could have disastrous effects on the economy. Missouri’s minimum wage is tied to the federal minimum wage, which has remained the same since 1997.