7/26/2004
Business Council
Urges Veto of Move to Raise State Minimum Wage
Governor Pataki should veto a bill passed by the Legislature that would increase
the minimum wage, because it would hurt many lower-income workers in the state
and further damage the business climate, according to New York Business Council
President Daniel B. Walsh.
“We believe, as you have said, that the best way to help working men and women
is to make it possible for New York employers to keep and create good jobs,”
Walsh said in a July 23 letter to Pataki. “When, if ever, will our elected
leaders do something about that?”
“We urge you to veto the legislation, and direct your agencies to study the
impact a higher mandated wage would have on low-income workers and our economy,
so that this issue can receive the careful, non-politicized analysis it
deserves,” the letter said.
Such an analysis would find that thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of
working families would lose Food Stamps and other benefits as a result of this
legislation, the letter predicted.
“A married couple who both work full-time and have two children would earn a
minimum of nearly $30,000, well over the income limit for Food Stamps,” the
letter noted. “Even in families where one parent works full-time and the other
part-time, many would receive earnings high enough to lose eligibility.”
See a complete report at
www.bcnys.org/whatsnew/2004/
0723minimumwage.htm
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