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| Economists’ Statement | |||||||
| June 8, 2001 We 80+ economists from throughout New York support an increase in the state minimum wage to $6.75 an hour. The Assembly has already passed a bill to this effect, and we urge you to join in this bipartisan effort to make work pay in New York State. Increasing the minimum wage to $6.75 in 2002 and tying further increases to the regional Consumer Price Index will significantly raise income for over 1 million New York workers. Most of the beneficiaries are adults, most are female, and the vast majority are members of low-income working families. This increase is certainly affordable in light of the fact that in 1968 the minimum wage was equivalent to well over $7.00 an hour expressed in current dollars, compared to $5.15 an hour now. By increasing its minimum wage, New York would join a growing list of states where voters and political leaders have chosen to take control over wage policy rather than wait for Congress to act at the federal level. There are now ten states plus the District of Columbia with minimum wage levels above the current $5.15 federal level, including four neighbors: Vermont ($6.25), Massachusetts ($6.75), Connecticut ($6.70 as of 2002), and Rhode Island ($6.15). These states hold in common a high level of average income and a high cost of living, two factors that favor a state minimum higher than the inadequate national floor. In its 1999 Economic Report of the President, the Council of Economic Advisors remarked that "the weight of the evidence suggests that modest increases in the minimum wage have had very little or no effect on employment." While controversy about the precise employment effects of the minimum wage continues, there is no reason to doubt that a modest increase in the minimum wage will achieve the intended goal of improving the well being of low-wage workers. Sincerely,
Moshe Adler David Andrew Erol Balkan Nesecan Balkan Christopher B. Barret Janis Barry Sandra Baum Lourdes Beneria Peter Birckmayer Eugene Canjels J. Dennis Chasse Kimberley Christensen Clifford Clark Jayne Dean Gregory DeFreitas Ranjit Dighe Romesh Diwan Matthew Drennan Massoud Fazeli Fred Floss Raymond S. Franklin Irwin Garfinkel Barbara Garson Christophe Georges William Goldsmith Ulla Grapard Christopher Gunn Conrad Herold Joan Hoffman David Howell Ruth Indeck Elizabeth J. Jensen Robert Jones Bernard Jump Syracuse University Lawrence Jay Kaplan Tim Koechlin Doug Koritz Nicholas Kozlov Joel Kupferman Fatemeh Moghadam Jay Mandle Frank Mauro Alan McAdams Edwin Melendez Martin Melkonian William Milberg Eshragh Motahar Egon Neuberger Carol O’Cleireacain Mehmet Odekon Shaianne Osterreich Warner James Parrott Steve Pendleton Kenneth Peres Marilyn Power Charlotte A. Price Paddy Quick Bruce Reynolds Leonard Rodberg Jean Paul Rodrigue Frank Roosevelt Sumner Rosen Grant Saff Sid Saltzman Elliot Sclar Richard Shirey Donald Solar Jeannine Swift William Swift William Tabb Jill Tiefenthaler Scott Trees A. Dale Tussing James Wiley Edward Wolff June Zaccone Naomi Zauderer Organizational affiliations are provided for identification purposes only. For more information contact: Thomas Michl - tmichl@nycap.rr.com Mark Levitan - mlevitan@cssny.org
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Last modified: June 8,
2001. (tjr)
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