Press: Minimum Wage Hike, Bah!

Thanks to an act of Congress in 2007 and ratification by the Idaho Legislature, today marks the third federally mandated increase in the minimum wage. In our state, the lowest wage earners will see their pay go up from $6.55 an hour to $7.25. If that doesn’t seem like a pretty nice bump, consider that it is a raise of more than 10 percent. Not bad for a recession, is it? A 10 percent raise would be rejoiced in the best of times. But we confess to harboring several regrets. Chief among them is that government mandate rather than the free marketplace is determining wage scales. And yes, even though the mandate directly impacts only the basement wage level, it will be felt throughout the pay scales — and perhaps the job status — of others/ Coeur d’Alene Press . More here .

Question: Are you surprised that the Press opposes the increase in the minimum wage?