This Sunday, New Mexico’s minimum wage is set to increase to $12.00 per hour or 50 cents more than the current wage. The new wage will be mandated beginning the first day of the New Year. Despite leftists using increases in the minimum wage to claim it is for social justice reasons, the increase will harm businesses and workers.
Mainstream TV station KOAT 7 even admits it, writing that the increase will result in “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.”
New Mexico Senate Finance Chairman George Muñoz (D-Gallup), a business owner, criticized the wage increase, saying that despite him already paying his workers above the $12 new minimum wage, he is “worried about the future.”
“What’s the next thing? What are they going to tell us?” he said. “So they’re going to say, ‘Well, you know what, we need to do some price controls. We’re going to tell you how much you should charge for your burrito.’”
According to the IZA World of Labor, “minimum wages reduce employment among low-wage, low-skill workers. Second, minimum wages do a bad job of targeting poor and low-income families. Minimum wage laws mandate high wages for low-wage workers rather than higher earnings for low-income families.”
More companies are automating tasks and cutting staff due to increases in minimum wages, which decrease available jobs and force employers to cut back on critical investments in their businesses.
All the 47 years I worked I NEVER got a raise “just because”. AND in retirement I didn’t get a raise this year either.
The minimum wage of $12.00 hurts the small businesses the most. And it also eliminates incentive to do better to get a better wage. When I stated working at a young age, I made much less in pay. As I gained experience, I got increases and promotions. This is how it should be.
So many young people want everything handed to them with our doing the work. I see all over Albuquerque work places short staffed. Kids (many not all) these days do not know what hard work is all about. It makes me sad when I see young adults that cannot even make change or read properly and yet earn $12.00 an hour. It’s all about government control. Next they will be telling you how much you can charge people for your products. And remember in education, NM is #50.
Here it is Folks: All the Democrat’s policies with the usual unexpected results.
None of their ideas WORK! We are getting closer to that $20.00 hamburger.
Just another control tactic to eliminate small businesses. They want everyone on welfare or in the streets.
Why can’t an article like this be more objective. Why is so hard to report without commentary and political ideology. Look at rents and food cost are those not raising also. Why are low income wage earners supposed to burden those cost. Please facts. In the meantime companies are making record profits. Nobody contest that.
Obviously you have no understanding of basic economics. Small businesses have to recoup the costs somewhere, meaning you pay more. Even midsized and big businesses who may be able to afford paying higher wages have to spread the costs elsewhere. Remember, all businesses have other costs besides people (advertising, maintenance, benefits, etc) all of which are also increasing. There is nothing political about this article, just a cold slap in the face of reality.
The Democrats plan is to kill all small businesses and have you depend on all the Walmarts. They do not want a middle class in this country.