IMF To US: Raise The Minimum Wage

by Austin Petersen
By Jonah Bennett

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual rule has called for the United States to raise the minimum wage, arguing that it would increase incomes for millions of poor Americans, CNBC reports.

Proposed changes in the minimum wage would spur medium-term fiscal growth and “would be helpful from a macroeconomic point of view,” according to Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF. However, the IMF did not give an exact rate for the federal minimum wage, deferring to Congress to set the agenda.

This is the first time the IMF has recommended that the U.S. raise the minimum wage, noting that the current federal minimum wage is low both  historically and internationally.

The Congressional Budget Office studied the impact of a federal plan to increase wages to $10.10 andestimated that 24 million workers would be better off at a cost of 500,000 jobs.

The current federal minimum wage amounts to $7.25 per hour, but 22 other states have higher minimum wages, and both Seattle and Massachusetts have recently made headlines by debating increases. In a sweeping 35-4 vote last week, the Massachusetts Senate agreed to raise the state’s minimum wage from $8 to $11 by 2017, the Boston Globe reports.

The legislation is expected to pass through the House with little opposition. The increases would occur by $1 each Jan. 1 for three years, until the limit was reached.  (RELATED: Seattle Approves $15 Per Hour Minimum Wage)

In the Massachusetts case, the liberal Economic Policy Institute has determined that the legislation will provide additional support to 600,000 low-wage workers, who have seen their wages stagnate since the late 1970s.

But David Neumark, an economist at the University of California-Irvine, is much more skeptical about the results of minimum wage increases. “It doesn’t give to the poorest, and it doesn’t take from the richest,” he said. Instead, small business owners take the greatest hit.

“It’s really no compromise whatsoever from the perspective of small businesses here in Massachusetts,” Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, added. “It’s a 38 percent increase in the minimum wage, far above any other state.” (RELATED: Take Back The High Ground In The Minimum Wage Debate)

Follow Jonah Bennett on Twitter

Austin Petersen is a homegrown Missourian with a lifelong passion for liberty. He grew up on a horse farm in Peculiar, Missouri and went on to attend Missouri State University, graduating with a degree in the Fine Arts. After developing a career in media in both New York City and Washington, D.C., he returned to Kansas City, MO, the city he now calls home. In 2016, Petersen appeared on the national stage as a candidate for president of the United States. He took second place in the crowded Libertarian primary behind Governor Gary Johnson and ahead of cyber security maverick John McAfee. During his campaign, Petersen earned many high-profile conservative endorsements, including Mary Matalin, Erick Erickson and Leon Wolf of RedState.com. Petersen also brings decades of professional experience in a wide variety of fields, from content production and media to business and political activism. He is the owner and chief executive of Stonegait LLC, a consulting firm specializing in photo and video services. He was also the director of production at FreedomWorks and an associate producer for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s show “Freedom Watch” on the Fox Business Network. Additionally, Petersen has a national following as a commentator and professional pundit. He is the founder of The Libertarian Republic, a powerful online news source for the public that receives an average of 1 million unique visits monthly and whose podcast, The Freedom Report, receives an average of one million monthly downloads. He is also a frequent contributor on television, appearing on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, MSNBC and on dozens of local radio shows.

4 comments

Leave a Comment