The business community should approach with extreme caution its dealings with U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) as he pushes for a $1.50 per hour increase in the federal minimum wage.
It’s intended to help out those most in need, but we suspect the ripple-effect it produces will act as another body-blow to a stumbling economy.
As part of his effort to secure the increase, Kennedy is considering a proposal that would extend targeted tax breaks, such as expensing limits for new equipment. Kennedy is hoping to garner Republican support by offering the tax incentives.
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We agree with opponents of the minimum wage increase, who argue that the tax breaks aren’t worth the ultimate cost of a higher minimum wage. We also believe that mandating a higher minimum would negatively impact businesses that pay entry-level workers above the existing minimum wage.
The Coalition for Job Opportunities points out that an increased minimum wage would stifle job growth for entry-level workers and raise labor costs across the board. Raising labor costs during a time of economic stress is clearly a move in the wrong direction.
And what might an increased minimum wage do to employers who now pay $8 or $9 per hour to attract stable workers? Doesn’t a mandated minimum wage increase force them to do the same, cutting further into their tight margins? Surely, these costs will be passed on to consumers.
This is not the time for an increase in the federal minimum wage.
Like the so-called “Living Wage” proposal that sits before the Providence City Council, it would more likely cause owners of small businesses to eliminate jobs, not grow them.
Wanted: Manufacturing jobs
This Wednesday night at the Crowne Plaza in Warwick, five candidates running for governor will gather for a “Town Meeting” designed to examine the health of our manufacturing sector – and to discuss how it cane be improved.
The event sponsored by Cranston-based Taco, Inc. and the Manufacturing Summit, a non-partisan coalition of manufacturers and organizations that support manufacturing.
This event represents an opportunity for the candidates to offer concrete examples of how they will work to strengthen one specific segment of our multi-faceted economy.
Rhode Island’s manufacturing sector has been decimated in recent decades. Once the lifeblood of Rhode Island’s workforce, the manufacturing sector has given way to the service sector. With each passing decade, Rhode Island has lost manufacturing jobs by the thousands.
But despite a steep slide, manufacturing does — and should — remain an important cog in our economic landscape.
The Ocean State remains home to a diverse mix of industries, including jewelry, metal machined parts, tools, dies, high-tolerance plastic components and boat building. Yes, the numbers are down. But over 14 percent of the jobs in our state are manufacturing jobs.
And these are good jobs — jobs that support families. The average manufacturing wage for our nearly 70,000 manufacturing workers is 33 percent higher than the statewide average. According to the Rhode Island Economic Policy Council, manufacturing accounts for 50 percent of our economic base.
The organizers of the “Town Meeting” have issued a challenge for Republicans Jim Bennett and Don Carcieri, and Democrats Tony Pires, Sheldon Whitehouse and Myrth York. They would like to see each gubernatorial candidate pledge to establish 20,000 new manufacturing jobs by the end of their first term in office.
That’s a tall order.
But we like the idea of aiming high. We would like to hear our next governor discuss ways to mold the technologies of the New Economy with the skills of Rhode Island workers and core manufacturing strengths that remain here.
We hope Wednesday’s gathering will focus on job creation. That is a popular topic during a political campaign, but one that all too often is brushed aside with few details attached. This “Town Meeting” offers the candidates a chance to present such details.
Rhode Island is the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Getting us back to that kind of enthusiasm and energy for creating jobs and products would be a good way to score valuable points with voters.
