skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Experts: Raising Minimum Wage Makes Economic Sense for MI

play audio
Play

Thursday, April 10, 2014   

LANSING, Mich. – While debate continues to swirl at both the state and national levels about raising the minimum wage, experts from two universities in Michigan say the move would bring broad economic benefits to the state.

Lisa Cook, an assistant professor of economics at Michigan State University, says it is time to put away the outdated notion that minimum wage jobs are only held by teenagers and accept today's reality that low-wage workers are often college-educated, family breadwinners.

"The median age of a low-wage worker is 34 years old,” she points out. “This is not an entry-level position that we're talking about. Less than a quarter of minimum-wage workers are teenagers."

Legislative efforts to raise the state's minimum wage have faced significant Republican opposition, but a coalition called Raise Michigan is currently gathering signatures in an effort to put a proposal on the November ballot, which would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by 2017.

Some lawmakers have raised concerns a higher minimum wage would mean higher costs for businesses, but University of Michigan economics professor Tom Weisskopf says that is simply not the case.

"Scholarly studies, as well as business experience show that the costs of higher pay are reduced, if not completely offset, by lower turnover and increased productivity," he says.

Right now, a full-time minimum wage worker in Michigan brings home roughly $15,400 per year, slightly less than the federal poverty level for a family of two.

It's estimated that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would save the state more than $200 million in food assistance each year.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021