More than three quarters of New York voters support increasing the state’s minimum wage, a new poll has found.
The Quinnipiac University survey, which showed New Yorkers by 78-20 percent backing an unspecified increase from the $7.25 per hour rate, found even Republicans favoring a hike by 53-43 percent.
Independent voters were supportive by 76-21 percent and Democrats by 91-7.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) wants to increase the minimum wage to $8.50 next year with annual hikes indexed to inflation. He’s called the plan his top 2012 legislative priority and plans to push for it before the June 21 end of the legislative session.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-LI) has called a minimum wage increase a potential “job killer.” Gov. Cuomo, while voicing conceptual support, has taken no position on Silver’s plan.
The March 28-April 2 telephone survey of 1,597 registered voters found continued strong favorable ratings for Cuomo, with the second-year chief exec enjoying 68 percent job approval.
But voters weren’t happy with the secretive way he struck a mega-deal with lawmakers last month to cut pension benefits for future public workers, expand the state’s DNA databank, redraw state legislative district lines and take the first step toward potentially legalizing casinos.
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3 Responses
“…an unspecified increase from the $7.25 per hour rate…”
Oy-Vey; here we go again.
Look, the only way a businessman is going to give a young, unskilled kid a chance to get an entry-level job is if it doesn’t cost him too much to do it. Then, if the kid works hard and gains on-the-job skills, he will gradually get a pay increase way beyond minimum wage.
A minimum wage guarantees no jobs and no opportunities for unskilled kids. Isn’t that great!
Instead, those jobs will go to undocumented Mexicans, who are now working everywhere, while the youth unemployment rate skyrockets.
A high minimum wager is important in order keep employment down. The best chance of getting rid of the jerks running the government is high unemployment, and the best way to surpress employment is to raise the minimum wage.
The majority of NYers are stupid. It is a fundamental rule of economics that putting a minimum price on something creates a glut of that thing, just as putting a maximum price creates a shortage. If there were a minimum price of $1 per apple, then nobody would buy apples that were worth less than $1, and those apples would remain unsold. If there’s a minimum price on labor, then anyone whose labor is worth less than the minimum will not be able to find work. It’s common sense, and every economist in the world agrees with it.
The only question is whether the minimum is so low that few people are worth less than it, and therefore it has little bad effect. If you put a minimum wage of $1 an hour, it wouldn’t affect anyone, because no one is willing to work for that little anyway. But though it would do no harm, there’s also no point in doing so. To whatever extent there is a point, to that same extent it does harm. This is simple logic.
If anyone doubts this, then let them explain exactly why the minimum wage should not be set at $30 an hour, or $100 an hour. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing? So why do you not support it? The answer is obvious — and the same answer applies to any level.