SMALL BUSINESS LOOKS TO GOVERNOR CHRISTIE FOR MERCY YET AGAIN
TRENTON (May 12, 2016): The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is imploring Governor Christie to veto a bill passed today that would mandate New Jersey employers pay $15 an hour for minimum wage earners. NFIB released a study earlier this year demonstrating the harmful effects of such a drastic increase but apparently the warnings fell on deaf ears. Yet again, the small business community is left looking to the Governor to spare them from the devastating actions of the legislature.
“The long-term result of the labor cost increase associated with $15 an hour minimum wage is New Jersey losing 70,000 jobs over the next decade but lawmakers refuse to see the writing on the wall. We warned them earlier this year that it will deter job growth and destroy what is left of our economy and yet here we are. As usual, Governor Christie is our only hope. He has exercised his veto authority on behalf of the small business community countless times and we are certainly hopeful he will do so again,” said NFIB New Jersey state director, Laurie Ehlbeck. “Raising the cost of labor for employers of minimum wage workers by 79% over as little as five years is a hit that no one can afford to take and Governor Christie knows that. He has been our firewall for years and while we are eternally grateful for his leadership, we are increasingly fearful of what will happen when he is no longer in office.”
According to NFIB’s Research Foundation, the minimum wage bill doesn’t just cost jobs over the long run or even stop at $15 an hour. Additional payroll taxes that must be paid on wage differentials will only add to the financial burden experienced by employers attempting to retain employees that could be making as much as $16.16 by 2022.
“Proponents of this bill have clearly lost sight of the fact that the minimum wage rate was designed as a starting point for people new to the workforce, not something that was ever intended to feed entire families. Raising it to such an exorbitant amount is clearly not out of concern over our fiscal future, it is about advancing a political agenda and failing to stabilize our state’s economy,” continued Ehlbeck. “We have every reason to believe that Governor Christie will once again protect small business owners from legislators that are more focused on political gamesmanship than a sound economy.”
