Wasn’t the passage of Initiative 688 in 1998 supposed to de-politicize the issue of the state’s minimum-wage rate forever, alleviate poverty and cause no harm to employment opportunities?
It’s failed on all counts, writes Maxford Nelsen, labor policy analyst for the Freedom Foundation, and NFIB/Washington State Director Patrick Connor in a guest editorial for the Everett Herald.
Among other research, the editorial underscores the first and most long-lasting effect raising minimum-wage rates has: The loss of job opportunities for teens and young adults starting out their work lives.
“Declining entry-level job growth corresponded with elevated unemployment for low-skilled workers like teens. Before I-688’s passage, teen unemployment generally followed national trends, but Washington’s teen unemployment rate has significantly exceeded the national rate every year since, reaching a staggering 34 percent at the height of the recession.”
At the end of the editorial, Nelsen also counters the online comments disagreeing with the points made by both men and by NFIB research.
