The statewide $15 minimum wage proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo would cost New York at least 200,000 jobs, with the most severe impact felt in upstate regions that are already struggling to create jobs, E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center, testified today.

“On balance,” McMahon said, “a mandated statewide $15 minimum wage would be a counterproductive policy with a negative impact. It will disrupt labor markets, reduce job creation, drive up prices and chill the business climate.”

Speaking before the Senate Labor Committee, McMahon also noted:

  • No state or developed country has pursued a $15 minimum wage.
  • New York’s minimum wage since 1965 has averaged $8.36.
  • The current $9 minimum wage is the highest in 37 years.

A more targeted and effective approach to helping workers in poverty, McMahon pointed out, would be enhancing the state Earned Income Tax Credit created by Gov. Mario Cuomo.

McMahon’s testimony and related figures can be viewed here. Other Empire Center analysis on minimum wage is also available at EmpireCenter.org/minwage

The Empire Center is a non-partisan, non-profit independent think tank based in Albany.

-30-

You may also like

A Year Later, Arbeeny Family Support Still Critical to Promoting Government Transparency

The Arbeeny family and the Empire Center are celebrating a year of partnership in remembrance of Norman Arbeeny, who passed away two years ago today after contracting COVID-19 in a Brooklyn nursing home. Read More

Empire Center Appeals COVID FOIL Request Delays

Empire Center has appealed four delayed Freedom of Information Law requests pertaining to state COVID-19 data Read More

Three of 62 Requested COVID Data Sets Made Available through FOIL

Just three COVID data sets have been made fully available in the month since the Empire Center officially submitted 62 FOIL requests Read More

A Shadowy Non-Profit that Employs One-Fifth of the New York State Health Department Claims To Be Exempt from FOIL

In another blow to transparency in Albany, a non-profit group closely tied to the state Health Department is refusing to publicly disclose its payroll records under the Freedom of Information Law. (HRI) has funct Read More

Excelsior Scholarship “Illusion” Inferior to TAP, Report Says

NY's Excelsior Scholarship program is crudely designed, regressive and wasteful. Read More

Report: Cuomo’s Medicaid Reforms Are Breaking Down

The budget crisis in New York’s Medicaid program stems from the failure of a key cost-control measure adopted during Governor Cuomo’s first term, according to a new report from the Empire Center for Public Policy. Read More

Statement Concerning Executive Order #183

It’s tempting to dismiss this as political posturing. Unfortunately, the governor’s rhetoric hints that his assault on the public’s right to know might not end there. Read More

Explore New York Spending and Taxes with Budget App

The Empire Center’s unique online “Explore Your State Budget” app has been updated to reflect data in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed Executive Budget for the 2019 fiscal year, which begins April 1. Read More