As Budget Hearings Begin, IFO Says Minimum Wage Hike Would Cost 33,000 Jobs, While Dem Lawmakers Decry ‘Poverty’ Wages
Posted By Steve Bittenbender On February 14, 2019 @ 4:55 am
Pennsylvania state lawmakers kicked off three weeks of budget hearings on Monday, and the initial talks focused on a couple of proposals put forward by Gov. Tom Wolf.
The Democratic governor’s plan to raise the minimum wage sparked discussion along party lines in the state House Appropriations Committee. Democrats championed Wolf’s plan to immediately boost the minimum wage from $7.25, the federal rate, to $12 and then gradually increase it to $15, saying it will raise families out of poverty.
Republicans, who hold a 19-seat majority in the House, raised questions to Matthew Knittel, the director of the state’s Independent Fiscal Office. The IFO, a nonpartisan agency, offers revenue projections to state lawmakers for budgetary issues.
URL to article:
https://freebeacon.com/issues/as-budget-hearings-begin-ifo-says-minimum-wage-hike-would-cost-33000-jobs-while-dem-lawmakers-decry-poverty-wages/