The minimum wage is roaring back.
President Joe Biden may have failed to drive through Congress an increase in the federal wage floor, which remains stuck at $7.25. But last month, Connecticut, Nevada and Oregon raised their minimums alongside Washington D.C. and a handful of other cities. Twenty-one states raised their minimum wages at the turn of the year. In San Francisco, it is $16.99 an hour. In Emeryville, California, it hit $17.68.
These increases may be warranted in a moment when high inflation is eroding the paycheck of American workers. Still, the newfound enthusiasm for the minimum wage risks doing a lot of harm to many of the workers it is intended to help.
