Despite even mainstream news organizations shining a light on the harmful ramifications of the newly increased $12 per hour minimum wage, Democrats in the state legislature are doubling down on their attempts to raise the wage even higher.
State Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos), who chairs the New Mexico House Taxation and Revenue Committee, told the Santa Fe New Mexican that she is “introducing a bill to raise the minimum wage to $16 per hour by January 2024, which would be the highest statewide minimum wage in the country.”
The outlet further reported, “Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque, also plans to introduce minimum or ‘living wage’ legislation raising it above $15 per hour.”
“Fifteen dollars might not be enough for a living wage,” she said. “Right now I’m leaning toward something higher than $15.”
Currently, the highest minimum wage in the country is in California at $15 per hour.
Mainstream TV station KOAT 7 admitted the extreme dangers of minimum wage increases this week in a report, writing that such policies will result in employers forced to “cut hours, automate tasks and demand more.”
The station interviewed an associate professor of finance at the University of New Mexico, Reilly White, who said, “As rates increase, that does help a lot of people employed at the minimum wage.” He added, “But, on the other side of it, it does interesting things, particularly to businesses.”
“White says it could also come at a cost to workers. He says some employers might reduce hours, demand more work out of their employees and automate some jobs like grocery store registers,” KOAT reported.
“It affects the types of people hired,” White said. “Another example is employers usually forgo hiring inexperienced workers like teenagers in favor of older, more experienced workers, making it harder for younger people to get a start in the market. So, it’s an interesting dynamic that affects a lot of different things across the workforce.”
“If we would have been $15 [in 2019] and indexing all along, we would be in the neighborhood of $16 now,” Chandler said. “It reflects the reality on the ground. It’s what workers need to earn a living wage. The past bill was a good bill, but it was a compromise that didn’t go far enough.”
The extreme increases in the minimum wage will certainly harm businesses and workers, but the Democrats are intent on pushing these wage hikes at the cost of the business owner and the taxpayer.
And once again Democrats are going by feelings not by reality…
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2013/09/17/minimum_wage_madness_119954.html
If increasing the minimum wage is somehow a good thing for workers and employers, why not make it $20 or $50? What is magical about $16? This kind of market manipulation by the Dems will lead to a catastrophe for both workers and employers. It is the law of unintended consequences at work.
Called a minimum LIVING wage, is that the mystery answer you seek ? All you had to do is read the article trumplican. 🙄
Trumplican?? Really??? You had better do some research on economics!!!
Still Damrats trying to destroy our country.
There has to be more incentive for consumers to be american, by American. Employees are not able to live on the current minimum wage alone. Even in a two family working home, the family’s struggle to decide whether to put gas in their car or to put food on their table or to pay their utility bills. With utility companies being able to increase their rates of electricity and gas and natural gas the consumer doesn’t stand a chance. There should be a cap on how much the utility companies can charge, and there should be a wage increase that make Americans feel like they are living in the land of the free. There has to be some way that this circle can continue without breaking somewhere. That’s what we hire lawmakers to do for us as citizens. It’s not happening, so maybe the problem is that we need to get new lawmakers in there to get the job done. People weren’t able to make an even decent living at $11.50 an hour. Now the wage is going to $12 an hour, that’s not going to help very much. And automating services is even worse! People go to places like Walmart, Albertsons, and even Target to shop spending their money locally only to find that they have to check themselves out and not even come in contact
With a human being. So the consumer is starting to feel like they are receiving less goods, for more money, and they have to be their own cashier. Consumers don’t buy products so they can be treated like they are an employee at a store. Those politicians that we hired need to come up with a way to make America work without making Americans feel that they are working two jobs to buy one product.
People buying at walmart are shopping locally?
Not even close. You are out of touch.
Sorry, I was speaking locally as far as vicinity. I do realize that Walmart is not a mom-and-pop store by any means. And they are the ones that are the least desirable right now because they do have the consumers doing their own work as far as driving to the store, selecting their items, and then checking them out themselves. I apologize.
Good luck with replacing stupid politicians in NM. The average voter never finished HS and certainly does not understand economics. If politicians were smart, they would establish an environment of job producers instead of the forced welfare system.
Totally Agree!!!!
That’s right!!!!
Yea but most family business can not afford such wages. They will be pushed out of the market. Only transnationals can afford such wages. They can afford such, because they are subsidized by US deficit spending ( tax rev ). There is nothing “American” about the majority of the US work force, having to be employed by International /Transnational firms, which are owned by anonymous share holders world wide. The men who hold the equity hide behind Bearer shares style architecture and are citizens of countries from Russia, to China, Malaysia, and more. You may get 16 dollar an hour now, at the cost of American tax payers; but you will loose all American Idealism, as these firms, and their share holders dictate national policy and control the majority of US labour markets. Starbucks will take over every family coffee shop in ABQ, and Starbucks is owned by anonymous share holders, who have multiple pass ports and zero national affiliation, and only loyalty to yield and capital.
Looks like everyone else will effectively take a cut in pay.
The money from a minimum wage increase will have to come from somewhere. Business owners are going to cut hours and/or charge higher prices – either way, the minimum wage earners aren’t getting more. You can watch for the higher prices and enjoy that effective pay cut that serves to hurt the middle class.
Everything the dems do is to attack and weaken America, this is just another example.
You want more than minimum wage? Work for it, improve yourself, build a skill set; but, know this doesn’t happen overnight. America is the land of opportunity, you still have to do the work. Take responsibility. Take ownership of your situation.
Raising the minimum wage will not encourage people to work harder. We basically have a lazy society that want everything given to them.
Minimum wage is meant to be a starting wage, in a starting position, in a starting job.
We need industry in this state so workers can advance to a higher paying job. We are plagued with service industry only. Yes, we need those workers but it should be a stepping stone to something greater.
Raising minimum wage will only hurt the employer and the consumer. And it will give the employee a false sense of security and not want to better themselves for a higher paying job.
I, for one, do not shop where I have to check myself out. Soon consumers will be asked to unload trucks to find the merchandise they need. Customer Service is dying.
Economics never has been their strong suit. Useful idiots are required to manipulate the masses of useful idiots to prop up those that will continue this path towards destruction where we “will have nothing and be happy”. Education is key, division and hatred is their path. We already know REAL education does not happen in a public education setting and they are using the system to further their end game. Education does not occur concealed behind brick and mortar or behind closed doors. Get out, speak up, and educate anyone that will listen.
Christine once again proves she has no clue about real life! As a member of the Los Alamos county council she had wild eyed ideas and rants about stupid things.. It’s real easy to spend another mans money.. MINIMUM WAGE IS NOT A CAREER GOAL!!! Get an education and get a real job!
Raising the minimum wage sounds like a great way to make people happy, but in real life it hurts people. Many do the same job for more pay. We then pay more for the same service and we the consumer now have less money. NM needs a better education system, why do Kids not graduate with a trade or at least the basics to get into a trade that they will get a $15 starting salary? Then add on that someone has gone to some form of higher education and they are only making the same wage. If all that is available to a person is minimum wage they need to asses they’re situation, maybe they need to move to another state because the gov of NM sucks or maybe they need to get off pot and go to school. NM needs a change in leadership, well we have not leadership, just a bunch of socialist leading our state and people to the toilet!
Democrats believe that Minimum Wage should be the same as Living Wage. Not a starting point for young or inexperienced workers to start and then work to advance and subsequently earn more.
Incentive does not exist in the socialist dem’s vocabulary.
Where in history did minimum wage laws change from “living” wage to introduction wage for teens? I think it is the republicans that are confused!
My question would be, how does a country like Denmark do it ?…They have a minimum wage equivalent of $18.00 in US dollars…All workers even those at McDonalds have health insurance…paid vacation for all workers, paid sick leave for all workers…After High School equivalent they get government sponsored academic collage; or trade school or a sponsored apenticeship programs their choice, at no cost to the student…Nation debt of 31% of GDP, (2022) Unemployment rate of 4.4%(2022) All from an Economy that is 1/10th the size of the US economy and is still in recovery from Covid 19 restrictions…
How free are the people really? In the Netherlands, it’s very difficult to own your own home and have your own business. It’s very difficult to get ahead.
Tell the moronic evil democraps if they want higher wages, they need to pay it our of their own liberal pockets. Leave the rest of us tax paying, hard working citizens alone. Maybe if they quit taxing us more and more and if they would stop stealing from the people, they would not have to create more policies to help lazy people who do not work and expect everything for free. Highest welfare state, worst schools, worst crime, democrap policies create these messes, they do not fix them.
I believe the Republicans is where it all went wrong in the first place when Republicans were in office is when everyone became homeless ,broke,sick,and everyone has something to say about it now democrats are back in office trying to help make everyone equal or at least trying something different to make it work for everyone and here the Republicans go crying because the don’t believe in equality mad because they have to actually pay people now for there hard work Mad because the lower life now has a chance at life and some people might nor take the opportunity to to rise from poverty but at least now there Is the option to u Republicans are mad about that because u want them to stay in poverty so u can control them horrible horrible selfish crybabies is to say the least about Republicans why don’t u give it a chance first see if it works for everyone before u start crying about it because it could work for everyone or maybe not but give it a chance because what ever we were doing obviously was not working ur suppose to want to see people do good for themselves not struggle so let’s give it a chance at least before u cry then if it’s not working we can try something new but come on get it together really crying gets us no where
Higher minimun wage is just a word for these democrats to throw around. If the politician in Santa Fe were to ever work, instead of sitting on his/her ass, trying to legislate what someone earns it would be better for the state. Getting more money for the working people means more money for the welfare programs which every politician has a hand out for. Why don’t they legislate that term limits be part of their job. Because if they stay in there long enough, their bank accounts get richer and richer and from where did this money come from? Ask yourself that one.
This all Going Green aka agenda 2020,2030 . Its all Feudalism or Communism, Socialism with knew names. Its all about breaking down new mexico and the USA. Putting us on our knees.
It a monopoly cartel by them that own it all. They don’t want local independent biz. They have machines and computers doing a lot of jobs for far less then we the people will work for. Its gonna get worse .
Stop contracting and complying with the color of goverment. Its all Fraud by the CORPARTIONS. We don’t even have real goverment or real elected leaders its all fraud and its detroying our communities.
It’s both a good and bad idea, yes it will cost businesses money, but raise the minimum wage up will put more money in person pocket, I’ve worked two minimum wage, and still hand a hard time surviving to make ends meet until next pay day, I almost decided to go homeless, but I realized that I’ve been homeless many times.
You think Denmark (or Scandanavia) is so great? Please move there. We do not need your Socialism here in New Mexico.
Found this: “In 2019, Denmark’s tax-to-GDP ratio was at 46.3 percent, Norway’s at 39.9 percent, and Sweden’s at 42.8 percent. This compares to a ratio of 24.5 percent in the United States.”
Let me manage more of my income, not give it up to the Nanny State.