NFIB Maryland Disappointed by O'Malley's Push for Dramatically Higher Minimum Wage

Date: January 23, 2014

Annapolis
(January 23, 2014)

Policy makers in Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas are likely
celebrating Governor O’Malley’s plan to raise the cost of entry-level labor by
40 percent over the next several years and then every year thereafter automatically,
said the National Federation of
Independent Business (NFIB)
today.

“It’s
hard to understand why the Governor is trying so hard to keep up with New York,
Illinois, California and the other states that businesses and taxpayers have
been fleeing for a decade,” said NFIB
Maryland State Director Jessica Cooper

“We’ve got some really serious competition in our own back yard and we
can’t afford gratuitous policies like this.”

In
his annual State of the State Address today O’Malley pushed for an increase in
the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10 per hour over the next three
years and then an automatic increase every year based on inflation. He argued
that doing so would expand the middle class and elevate the state’s economy.

“There’s
not a small business in Maryland that can bank on a 40 percent increase in
sales over the next three years and then a steady, predictable increase every
year forever,” said Cooper.  “The
Governor’s plan would disconnect wages from the prices that consumers are
willing to pay.  That is not how the real
economy works.”

Cooper
noted that Maryland has raised taxes substantially in the past few years,
making it difficult for small businesses to keep up.  A spike in labor costs now would push some to
make tough choices.

“Small
business owners in Maryland don’t have to look very far past the horizon to see
greener pastures,” said Cooper. 
“Governors and lawmakers in very nearby states are competing
aggressively to attract taxpayers and small business investors.  The Governor’s speech today makes them more
appealing to small business owners in Maryland who are getting fed up.”

For
more information about NFIB, please log on to www.nfib.com.

 

 

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Related Content: Small Business News | Maryland

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