PITTSBURG POST-GAZETTE EDITORIAL: … In West Virginia and Maryland the minimum wage jumped Jan. 1 by 75 cents to $8 an hour. In Ohio it rose by 15 cents to $8.10. In New Jersey it increased by 13 cents to $8.38. And in New York it jumped by 75 cents to $8.75. Delaware’s rate stayed unchanged at $7.75 an hour.
Lower than all those minimum wages is Pennsylvania’s, which is stuck at $7.25 — the same rate it’s been since 2009, the same rate as the federal minimum and now less than the minimum wages of 30 states. At 40 hours a week times 52 weeks, that’s $15,080 in a year’s pay — hardly enough to support one person, much less a family with children. Pennsylvania, and the nation, can do better.
Plenty of research has debunked the assertion by business lobbies and the politicians who answer to them that a higher minimum wage discourages hiring, especially of young people. Most studies find little or no effect, at fast-food restaurants or other workplaces, even when jobless rates have been high… (more)
