On Tuesday May 19, 2015, the city council of Los Angeles, California, voted 14-to-1 to increase the city’s minimum wage from $9 to $15 an hour by 2020.  Los Angeles becomes the largest city in the nation to increase its minimum, and this incremental increase will affect almost 50 percent of workers in Los Angeles.  

Economist Michael Reich (University of California, Berkeley) states, “The proposal will bring wages up in a way we haven’t seen since the 1960s. There’s a sense spreading that this is the new norm, especially in areas that have high costs of housing.” (New York Times)  Los Angeles is now one of eight cities that have raised their minimum wage, and the big questions is, will other cities follow?  In this blog post I have located some great resources across the Internet for you to use as you consider whether it’s beneficial for your municipality to increase its minimum wage.

1. This document from Route Fifty provides an overview of the pros and cons of the newly passed ordinance in Los Angeles, California. 
2. One of the most thorough sites on the topic of minimum wage is the U.S. Department of Labor’s site on wages.  An impressive feature of the website is a clickable map that tells you what the minimum wage laws are in every state. The mythbusters page of the DOL’s website is also informative.
3. This document, from the National Employment Law Project (an organization advocating for an increase in federal minimum wage), provides an overview of recent trends in local minimum wage ordinances, paying particular attention to how businesses have adjusted to the implementation of local wage increases over time. They also wrote a report that provides an overview of the movement toward $15.
4. This article by The Hamilton Project argues that a raise in minimum wage would cause a positive ripple effect.  That is, those individuals earning just below and just above minimum wage would receive a pay increase, not just the individuals earning minimum wage.
5. The Economist describes an important component of the minimum wage discussion, namely, a municipality’s living wage.
6. This blog on the Economic Policy Institute’s website discusses how a $12 minimum wage would align more closely with the rest of the developed world.
7. This document from the Congressional Budget Office explains the effects of a federal increase on minimum wage on employment and family income.
8. The National Conference of State Legislatures discusses current state minimum wages in effect as of February 24, 2015, as well as future enacted increases.

What is your opinion of the Los Angeles ordinance to raise the minimum wage? How would you describe the implications for local governments generally? Please post your comments below.

Douglas Shontz

Knowledge Network Intern