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Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

What’s the deal with the CBO report?

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

Business, Government, News, Politics

4.81.5K Ratings

🗓️ 12 February 2021

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The big news in the minimum wage world this week is the brand new CBO report—which, among many benefits, also found that a $15 federal minimum wage would cost jobs, increase the deficit, and raise prices. How can that be, when most modern minimum wage studies suggest the opposite? Goldy and Paul explain how CBO arrived at their numbers. Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics Further reading: The CBO report: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2021-02/56975-Minimum-Wage.pdf General coverage and analysis - CBO report finds $15 minimum wage would cost jobs but lower poverty levels: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/08/minimum-wage-hike-15-an-hour-by-2025-would-result-14-million-unemployed-nonpartisan-congressional-budget-office-says/ CBO analysis confirms that a $15 minimum wage raises earnings of low-wage workers, reduces inequality, and has significant and direct fiscal effects: https://www.epi.org/blog/cbo-analysis-confirms-that-a-15-minimum-wage-raises-earnings-of-low-wage-workers-reduces-inequality-and-has-significant-and-direct-fiscal-effects-large-progressive-redistribution-of-income-caused/ Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would lift pay for nearly 40 million workers: https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-federal-minimum-wage-to-15-by-2024-would-lift-pay-for-nearly-40-million-workers/ We still need stimulus: How the CBO’s new report captures the urgency of this moment: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/2021/02/01/still-need-stimulus-cbo-report-captures-urgency-of-moment/ Minimum wage and employment - Impacts of minimum wages: review of the international evidence: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impacts-of-minimum-wages-review-of-the-international-evidence The effect of minimum wage on low-wage jobs: https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/134/3/1405/5484905?login=true The new wave of local minimum wage policies: Evidence from six cities: https://irle.berkeley.edu/the-new-wave-of-local-minimum-wage-policies-evidence-from-six-cities/ They said Seattle’s higher base pay would hurt workers. Why did they flip? https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/business/economy/seattle-minimum-wage-study.html Minimum wage shocks, employment flows, and labor market frictions: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/685449?journalCode=jole Myth or measurement: What does the new minimum wage research say about minimum wages and job loss in the United States? https://www.nber.org/papers/w28388 Minimum wage and prices - The impact of a city-level minimum wage policy on supermarket food prices by food quality metrics: A two-year follow up study: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/1/102 Wages, minimum wages, and price pass-through: The case of McDonald’s Restaurants: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01sb397c318/4/646.pdf Minimum wage and the federal budget - Effects of a federal minimum wage increase to $15 by 2025 on the federal budget: https://irle.berkeley.edu/effect-of-a-federal-minimum-wage-increase-to-15-by-2025-on-the-federal-budget/ Raising the minimum wage would boost an economic recovery - and reduce taxpayer subsidization of low-wage work: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2021/01/27/495163/raising-minimum-wage-boost-economic-recovery-reduce-taxpayer-subsidization-low-wage-work/ A $15 minimum wage would have significant and direct effects on the federal budget: https://www.epi.org/publication/a-15-minimum-wage-would-have-significant-and-direct-effects-on-the-federal-budget/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Transcript

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0:00.0

I'm David Goldstein, senior fellow at Civic Ventures.

0:08.7

I'm Paul Constant and I'm a writer at Civic Ventures.

0:13.8

Mondays, am I right?

0:17.1

Yeah, Mondays, those are the days that the Congressional Budget Office releases its minimum wage

0:23.2

forecast.

0:24.2

Every Monday, I mean, here on the West Coast, I woke up to a to an alert from the

0:30.8

from the Washington Post said minimum wage hike to $15 an hour by 2025 would result in

0:36.8

1.4 million unemployed, nonpartisan congressional budget office says nonpartisan congressional

0:45.5

budget office staffed largely by Republican appointees says, well, we're going to get

0:51.9

into that.

0:52.9

But anyway, it was a hell of a way to start the week.

0:55.0

So first, we should get into what the report actually says aside from the scary headline,

1:00.9

the report said that $15 minimum wage would cost 1.4 million jobs by 2025.

1:08.2

They said it would increase the federal deficit by $54 billion over 10 years and would cause

1:14.4

higher prices for goods and services.

1:16.8

It wasn't all bad.

1:18.4

The good side of the of the report found that $15 minimum wage would lift 900,000 people

1:24.4

out of poverty by 2025, raise income for 17 million Americans about one in 10 workers.

1:31.2

And another 10 million who have wages just above that amount could potentially see increases

1:35.3

as well is what the report found.

1:37.6

Yeah.

1:38.6

So it's funny when we knew this was coming.

...

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