Minimum wage increases make sense in geographical areas where municipalities and other government organizations can decide what is healthy for their region.
Case in point- Manhattan and other ultra-high cost of living areas like San Francisco which hamper peoples income.
To me it is all about housing. Economically I wish to see - and help push forth - better policy that leaves more dollars in workers pockets, for saving or spending.
Ratios and comps, from a regional based wage index in conjunction with regional consumer pricing indexes, makes sense for more action oriented economic decisions which lead to impactful legislation.
In Arizona the minimum wage will be increasing by more than 20%. As the minimum wage increases in states across the country this year - January 2017 - the costs will be passed along to the consumer, to a degree. California's minimum wage will increase to $10.50 per hour.
NYPost:
City businesses with 11 or more employees will be hit with a whopping 22 percent hike in wage costs for their lowest-paid workers, as the first phase — a $2-an-hour jump over the $9 minimum — kicks in. By the end of 2018, the city’s wage floor is set to hit the full $15. The rest of the state, where the economy is far more dicey, gets a small break, as the hikes phase in more slowly — an obvious admission by Albany that they’ll take a toll. - http://nypost.com/2016/12/30/new-yorks-risky-15-wage-experiment-is-off-and-running/
