Do ‘All the Economics Show’ That a Minimum Wage Increase Will Help the Economy?

In a recently released clip from his pre-Super Bowl CBS interview, President Joe Biden acknowledged that a $15 minimum wage wouldn’t be included in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, but he announced his willingness to gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour in a separate effort,   claiming that “all the economics show that if you do that the whole economy rises.”

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25, and while there is widespread support for raising the minimum wage among left-leaning economists and think tanks, such support isn’t as universal as Biden suggests. In 2019, for example, the conservative think tank the Economic Policies Institute published a survey of economists on their support for a $15 minimum wage. EPI performed similar surveys in the past and found similar results—including in 2015, when the survey was performed by the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.

You're out of free articles
Create an account to unlock 1 more articles
By signing up with your email, you agree to The Dispatch’s privacy policy and terms and conditions
Already have an account? Sign In
Comments (103)
Join The Dispatch to participate in the comments.
 
Load More