Acton Institute Powerblog

Promoting free societies characterized by liberty & religious principles

Search results for "Minimum Wage"
February 13, 2013

The Minimum Wage Workforce Myth

During his recent State of the Union address, President Obama argued for increasing the federal minimum wage: Even with the tax relief we put in place, a family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. Continue Reading...
February 07, 2013

Green Energy Exploits and the Minimum Wage

I came across this intriguing story out of Silicon Valley today: SUNNYVALE (CBS SF) – Bloom Energy Corp. has been ordered by a U.S. District Court Judge to pay $31,922 in back wages and an equal amount in liquidated damages to employees from Mexico after the company was found to have willfully violated the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Continue Reading...
August 16, 2006

The Minimum Wage: A Denial of Freedom and Duty

In this week’s Acton Commentary, “The Minimum Wage: A Denial of Freedom and Duty,” I look at the concept of minimum wage legislation from the perspective of the employer/employee relationship. In his second epistle to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul sets down a moral principle: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” Continue Reading...
August 02, 2006

The ‘Moral’ Minimum Wage Increase Hurts Teens and Minorities

Religious activists are stumping for a minimum wage increase as a way to help the disadvantaged. But do they understand the economics? Anthony Bradley observes that government-mandated pay hikes “actually hurt teens and low-skilled minorities in the long run because minimum wage jobs are usually entry-level positions filled by employees with limited work experience and few job skills.” Continue Reading...
February 20, 2014

Samuel Gregg: ‘Our Minimum-Wage Circus’

Acton’s Director of Research, Samuel Gregg, recently  wrote about the effects of raising the minimum wage at the National Review Online. The latest CBO report estimates that increasing the minimum wage to over $10/hour in 2016 will not greatly affect the poorest in society; it is estimated that this increase will only help 2% of those living in poverty. Continue Reading...