The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Some cities and states have their own minimum wage, and in many cases, for various reasons, state and local minimum wages are more than the federal government requires.
For example, the District of Columbia has a $17.50 minimum wage, followed by Washington state's $16.66, Connecticut's $16.53, California's $16.50, and New York City's $16.50, although there are proposals in the Big Apple to make it higher.
Jeff Stier, senior fellow at Consumer Choice Center, says places are already expensive because of the cost of labor. He adds that people will not win with a higher wage.
"That will mean less employment, fewer hours paid, and/or higher prices, or a combination therefore, neither of which are good outcomes for the economy, for consumers, or for workers," says Stier. "There will be fewer hours of work because you're going to have to pay them more, and you can't really squeeze consumers anymore by raising prices."
In the New York mayor’s race, the leading candidate, self-described socialist Zohran Mamdani, has made a $30-minimum wage a key part of his agenda. This is almost double the amount minimum wage in New York is currently.
This is something that he hopes to accomplish by 2030. The plan is to increase steadily the city’s minimum wage every year, and starting January 1, 2031, the wage will increase based on the increase in cost of living or production. Smaller business will have a longer transition period, but the goal is for it to reach $30.
Mamdani states that there needs to be a change and claims that this is the right direction to take. According to him, the overall economy thrives when there is more money in the working people’s pockets.
