While a $15 minimum wage sounds appealing, the real-life effects on New Yorkers will be far less desirable, even catastrophic for many parts of the state. A 67% increase will be the final straw for many businesses. There are many steps the Governor and Legislature can take that will grow our economy and spur more and better-paying jobs for New Yorkers. When New Yorkers are given the opportunity to learn more about this issue, they will agree that while this policy is good-intentioned, it is politically driven and wrong for our state and its people.
We all want to see our fellow New Yorkers make more money, but the proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour will have a catastrophic effect on the job market and increase the everyday cost-of-living on already struggling New Yorkers when costs are inevitably passed down to customers. New York is already the least economically competitive state in the nation and a recent report revealed a $15 an hour mandated wage would result in a loss of nearly 600,000 jobs.