New Jersey Governor Opposes Wage Hike
On Tuesday New Jersey voters will go to the polls to vote on a minimum wage increase to $8.25 per hour. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is adamantly opposed to the hike as are half of the businesses in the state.
The proposal on the voting ballot would also amend the state’s constitution and link future minimum wage increases with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This would mean that as the cost of living increases the minimum wage would follow it.
Governor Christie and a majority in the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) oppose the measure because it could mean the loss of an estimated 31,000 jobs. Members of the NFIB were recently polled and results showed that 93% are opposed to the increase.
NFIB spokesman Jack Mozloom confirmed that an initial wage hike such as this would have a severe impact on businesses. He elaborated further that it would be difficult to stop the damage because future increases will be tied to the CPI.
As expected, research indicates that there will be between 65 and 75 percent of voters likely to vote “yes” on the ballot. These polls were conducted by RutgersUniversity and MonmouthUniversity.
The proposed $8.25 minimum wage would be $1.00 over the Federal Minimum wage. New Jersey is not the only state seeking to raise the minimum wage. California is currently at $8.00 per hour and will raise it to $10 per hour by 2016.
Wage hikes such as the New Jersey proposal are commonly a source of contention between workers and business owners. Business owners do not see the value of hiring unskilled labor at increasingly higher wages yet inflation makes an almost impossible living situation for workers in jobs such as those in the fast food industry.
However, some economists believe that minimum wage hikes like this have little impact on employment. Paul Krugman, a PrincetonUniversity economist and columnist for the New York Times made this research-backed assertion in the paper’s February column.
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