By Melissa Reyes ‘21

The minimum wage, an enticing economic notion to low-income workers is an absolute failure on the already weakened economy of New Jersey. Murphy plans on increasing the minimum wage to $15, and seems to be gradually increasing it as time passes. However, it will not affect poverty and will cause unemployment.

In New Jersey, the “Minimum wage increased from $8.44 per hour to $8.60, which is a 16-cent increase for the estimated 300,000 minimum-wage workers in New Jersey” (NJ.Com).

Murphy claims, “this is as high on the priority list as anything that we’ve got,” which shows how he plans on acting on his campaign promise. It is alarming because it will damage our economy, with the intentions of improving it.

However research groups such as the Heritage Foundation and CATO, a libertarian think tank, argue that the minimum wage will damage the economy. CATO estimates a loss of 7 million jobs if the country were to have a $15 minimum wage.

According to the Heritage Foundation, “businesses would respond to these higher labor costs by reducing employment of affected workers by over one-sixth, thus eliminating approximately seven million full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs by 2021.”

In other words, 7 millions jobs will be the cost of job loss if the country decides to raise it to 15. Think about the amount of jobs that will be lost, considering the fact that New Jersey has one of the highest taxes.

A study by Joseph Sabia “found no evidence that minimum wage increases were effective at reducing overall poverty rates or poverty rates among workers.”

There is no sound evidence whatsoever that it will improve and help New Jerseyan workers.

New Jerseyans need to realize this when learning about Phil Murphy and his plan to raise the minimum wage. The minimum wage should be built up on facts rather than emotional appeal.

Ultimately as famous economist Thomas Sowell wrote “the real minimum wage is always zero, regardless of the laws, and that is the wage that many workers receive in the wake of the creation or escalation of a government-mandated minimum wage, because they lose their jobs or fail to find jobs when they enter the labor force. Making it illegal to pay less than a given amount does not make a worker’s productivity worth that amount—and, if it is not, that worker is unlikely to be employed.”