Oklahoma voters reject minimum wage hike

“Voters in Oklahoma rejected a minimum wage increase earlier this month. That’s actually the third time in a row voters haven’t approved an increase (California and Massachusetts were the last two), after an undefeated streak going back to 1996,” notes economist Jeremy Horpedahl.

Nondoc reports:

By a major margin, Oklahoma voters rejected State Question 832, which would have gradually raised the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour, ending a years-long effort to align the state’s payment floor with neighboring states that have approved increases in recent years.

With more than 93 percent of precincts reporting, more than 56 percent of voters opposed SQ 832 — the only item on Oklahoma ballots Tuesday for which independent or Libertarian voters could cast ballots. All election results are unofficial until certified by the Oklahoma State Election Board.

Had it passed, SQ 832 would have raised the minimum wage gradually — to $12 in 2027, then by $1.50 each year before topping out at $15 per hour in 2029, more than double the current rate of $7.25. After reaching $15 per hour, the rate would have continued to increase in smaller increments over time. Beginning in 2030, the state’s minimum wage would have increased annually based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index.

Minimum wage hikes don’t necessarily increase workers’ living standards, because they increase consumer prices, can cause tax increases, and result in some workers being laid off or having their work hours reduced.

Robots replaced some fast-food workers after California increased the minimum wage for fast-food workers.

Minimum wage hikes increase consumer prices, as economists have found. An April 2019 survey found that “minimum wage hikes usually mean higher menu prices and fewer employee hours” in restaurants.

Minimum wage hikes can lead to tax increases. In 2016, California’s legislative analyst estimated that the gradual increase in California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour would cost taxpayers $3.6 billion more a year in government pay alone. Easy-to-perform, unskilled jobs in state and local governments historically often paid less than $15 per hour. States had no difficulty hiring people for far less than $15 per hour, because those government jobs were not demanding, and often came with excellent benefits.

When the minimum wage is increased beyond a certain level, employers can’t pass the cost of a minimum wage increase on to their customers, and they start laying off employees instead.

In a survey, 72% of economists opposed a high $15 minimum wage, because it would wipe out too many jobs and result in employers restricting employees’ work hours too much. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who backed a $15 minimum wage, announced he would cut his staffers’ hours in order to afford paying them a $15 minimum wage.

In 2017, Reuters reported that a “Seattle law that requires many businesses to pay a minimum wage of at least $13 an hour” had “left low-wage workers with less money in their pockets because some employers cut working hours.”