The Senate is expected to clear the way on Tuesday for an increase in the minimum wage that Democrats and some Republicans agree is overdue. But the Senate’s approval may not mean that workers will actually start receiving bigger paychecks in the immediate future. The Senate bill differs from the one that cleared the House, and includes $8.3 billion in tax breaks for small businesses that Republicans and some Democrats say are necessary to offset the cost of the wage increase. …The House bill, which passed by a vote of 315 to 116, with 82 Republicans joining the Democrats, included none of those tax breaks. (New York Times, Tuesday)
Cut the taxes, dump the minimum wage.
FEE Timely Classic
Another Minimum-Wage Clash by Richard B. McKenzie