IOWA SMALL BUSINESS EXPECTS MORE FROM CANDIDATES THAN WISHFUL THINKING
DES MOINES (November 13, 2015) On the eve of the Democratic
debate at Drake University when much is being made of a new nationwide push to
raise the minimum wage rate to $15 an hour, the National Federation of
Independent Business (NFIB) is wondering why economic experts are being
completely left out of the conversation regarding artificially inflating wages.
“Normally, when 7 out of 10 experts in their fields agree on
something, people listen carefully. For some reason, even though an
overwhelming majority of economists oppose the increase of minimum wage to an
arbitrary $15 an hour, proponents of the increase insist that they should be
ignored with absolutely no evidence to the contrary,” According to Kristin
Failor, NFIB Iowa state director. “Men and women that have dedicated their
lives to studying our economy are telling us loud and clear that jobs will be
lost and growth will be deterred if such a drastic increase is implemented.”
The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) recently
released a survey which sought reaction from economists regarding the
recent push to increase minimum wage to $15. The study of 166 U.S.-based
economists, a majority of them identifying as Democrats, showed that a majority
of the respondents were not only opposed to the new minimum wage but saw it as
a factor that would ultimately make it hard for small businesses to keep their
doors open.
“The one thing experts agree on is that increasing the
minimum wage will decrease the amount of jobs available to the unemployed and
kill small businesses trying to remain the pillars of their communities that
they have always been,” continued Failor. “Iowa small businesses will be
listening attentively tomorrow night to what policy proposals the candidates
suggest for improving economic conditions. Picking a number out of a hat and
deciding it will make for a decent minimum wage is no way to run our country
and we hope to find leadership tomorrow night with improving our tax code and
reducing exhaustive regulations.”
