Raising wage had unintended results
As unemployment reached its highest point in 14 years during the month of October, legislators' prior decision to substantially increase the minimum wage during good economic times is now yielding troubling results ("Mass. projects business tax hikes," Nov. 19).
Decades of economic research predicted that there would be an increase in job losses following minimum wage hikes. With demand for their products and services dropping dramatically, employers can't raise prices and are responding to higher labor costs by shifting their hiring focus to better-skilled applicants or automated services, or cutting back on customer service. Some McDonald's stores in Illinois are testing kiosks for ordering and automated cooking systems that replace minimum wage workers.
Legislators should take note that the unintended consequence of their past minimum wage hikes is job loss for the least skilled workers at a time when they need help the most. A job at the previous minimum wage is much better than none at a higher rate.
Tim Miller
Washington
Though the numbers speak for themselves in terms of the direct linkage ($11.8 billion in contracts to Bay State companies in fiscal 2007), it may be more accurate to say that Uncle Sam is becoming more reliant on Massachusetts.
The prevailing theme during my work as president of the Massachusetts High Technology Council and Defense Technology Initiative's successful Base Realignment and Closing effort in 2005 was that proximity to our tech sector, educated workforce, and academic and research centers is crucial to the Department of Defense mission. With federal investment having doubled since 2000, it is fair to say that the region's research and development and tech base is the first place DOD thinks of when developing cutting-edge warfighting technologies. This steadily increasing reliance on this region's tech base will continue to be the driving force behind the Defense Technology Initiative's focus as we head toward any future BRAC process.
Christopher R. Anderson
Westford
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