With this week's 2016 Republican National Convention dominating the spotlight and the political conversation in Cleveland and across the country, the city's local politics are not top of mind. It's important to note, though, that much of the city is divided over a proposal to increase Cleveland's minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The truth? Minimum wage laws hurt those they purport to help, particularly workers at the bottom of the economic ladder, who are eager to gain entry into the workforce and would be priced out of the labor force with such a high minimum wage. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would not only harm Cleveland workers, it could also force businesses in Cleveland to close their doors and move elsewhere in the state, where the minimum wage is a more reasonable $8.10 per hour.
Here's IWF's Patrice Lee Onwuka's take:
Workers and community leaders, who see $15 an hour as a ticket to upward mobility, allow immediate gain to blind them from the long-term loss of jobs and possible extinction of many local businesses and restaurants which they patronize. What good is a $15 minimum wage when you’re in an unemployment line?
Proponents of minimum wage hikes claim that we’re exaggerating the loss of jobs that occurs, but the race for automation of predictable, repetitive, low-skill tasks often done by the lowest-wage workers is an inevitability. Studies point to manufacturing, food service and retail as the most susceptible industries for automation. Manufacturing is leading the economy in Cleveland for example.
Even if their hearts are in the right place in wanting to boost wages for poor workers, clear heads must prevail.
You can read Patrice's full article here. Then, please be sure to click on the social media icons below to share this important story with your friends and family.
