Missouri Voters Could Raise Their State’s Minimum Wage to $12 in 2023
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Missouri voters will weigh in this November on whether to raise the Show Me State’s $7.85 an hour minimum wage gradually to $12 an hour in 2023.
What the Initiative Does
Proposition B would increase Missouri’s minimum wage by 85 cents an hour on a yearly basis from 2019 to 2023, ending at $12 an hour in 2023. The minimum wage increases would be as follows:
- $8.60 in 2019,
- $9.45 in 2020,
- $10.30 in 2021,
- $11.15 in 2022,
- $12.00 in 2023.
After 2023, the minimum wage would increase or decrease each year based on changed in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
Argument in Favor
The current $7.85 an hour minimum wage makes it very difficult for workers at that income level to get by, especially if they’re raising a family. Gradually raising the minimum to $12 an hour in 2023 makes sense.
Argument Against
Raising the minimum wage will reduce the job opportunities available to low wage workers, as higher hourly wages will make it more likely that employers scale back their workers’ hours or pursue automation.
In-Depth
Raise Up Missouri is leading the campaign supporting Proposition B with the support of The Fairness Project, Sixteen Thirty Fund, and the National Employment Law Center. It also has the support of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in addition to the mayors of St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia; and St. Louis County’s County Executive, all of whom are Democrats. Raise Up Missouri says in support of Proposition B:
“No one who works full time should have to live in poverty. Right now, too many Missouri parents who work – often at more than one job – still struggle to put food on the table because they earn just $300 a week. Join our fight to raise Missouri’s minimum wage so parents – not taxpayers- can provide basics like groceries and rent for the 1 in 5 children in Missouri in low-income families.”
The Associated Industries of Missouri and Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry oppose Proposition B. Karen Buschmann, a spokesperson for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says:
“A minimum wage mandate hurts the very people it is intended to help. As the minimum wage increases, the ability of employers to continue to employ workers is damaged, particularly affecting entry-level workers.”
Missouri established a minimum wage that rises or falls based on changes in the Consumer Price Index via a ballot measure in 2006. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25.
This initiative was placed on the ballot after more than 120,000 signatures were submitted.
Summary by Lorelei Yang
(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / YvanDube)
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