A study done by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) showed that California is set to lose as many as 400,000 jobs by 2022 if plans continue for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
The study by Drs. David Macpherson of Trinity University and William Even of Miami University, called "California Dreamin' of Higher Wages," found that a 10 percent increase in the state’s minimum wage over the past three decades resulted in a 5 percent rate of jobs lost in industries with a higher percentage of low-wage workers.
The study also found this:
As of 2017, California’s $10.50 minimum is among the highest statewide minimum in the country. Moreover, under current law, California’s will increase its minimum wage to $15.00 by 2022 while the federal minimum is scheduled to remain at $7.25. If current laws remain in effect, this will lead to the largest gap between a state and federal minimum wage in the history of the U.S.
When it comes to critics who dispute the study, Beman didn't mince any words.
“I get very upset when people say we are putting out junk science and twisted economics,” Beman told the New York Times back in 2014, “because that happens to be our criticism of other people.”
(Cover Photo: Anna Waters)