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Minimum wage increase: ‘The sky will not fall’
The lead legislative sponsor of a proposal to raise the state’s minimum wage said concerns about the possible increase on businesses is, for the most part, unwarranted.
“They’re still going to be in operation and they’re still going to be hiring people,” said Del. Aisha Braveboy, a Prince George’s County Democrat. “What it will impact is their bottom line.”
Braveboy said in an interview last week that she expects to once again be the lead sponsor of a bill in the 2014 General Assembly session to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10. [Subscriber access.]
Some business owners in the state said the change could cause them to reduce the number of people they hire and even close some locations.
Braveboy and others have dismissed some of those claims and countered that the changes would create as many as 4,000 additional jobs.
“This is not the first time there has been a proposal to [increase the minimum wage],” Braveboy said. “Similar arguments have always been made and guess what, the sky will not fall. Some businesses have the right to be concerned but for the most part this will not affect the number of employees hired or cause fast food restaurants to go out of business.”
Read more about other issues in the upcoming 2014 General Assembly session [subscriber access]:
- Strong push on minimum wage for 2014 Assembly
- From tax cuts to millions in the hole
- Pols in hot water over rain tax
Bryan P. Sears writes about government and politics in Maryland. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
