Elisabeth Jensen Supports Raising the Minimum Wage; Andy Barr Thinks Kentucky Should Be More Like North Dakota

Press Release

In the Frankfort Chamber of Commerce/FPB-TV debate last week, Elisabeth Jensen and Representative Andy Barr clearly differed on the question of whether the federal minimum wage should be increased. Saying "It's time for Kentucky workers to get a raise" Elisabeth Jensen explained how better wages fit into her overall Jensen Jobs Plan to get the Kentucky economy moving. By improving wages, helping families with crushing student loan debt, modernizing bridges, schools and data networks, and closing tax loopholes so the wealthy pay their fair share, working people will have more money to spend in local businesses. This will increase demand so businesses will have the confidence to hire more workers and pay them more.

Andy Barr opposes an increase in the minimum wage and he cited a study by the Congressional Budget Office in February that estimated the effects of raising the wage to $10.10. Elisabeth Jensen responded that a prediction is out of date once evidence starts coming in, and the evidence shows that states that have raised wages this year are seeing faster job growth than the states that have not.

"Since the CBO study we actually have evidence. Like I said 13 states since the first of the year have increased the minimum wage and those states have shown significant job growth on average than the states that have not done it," Jensen said, adding, "It's time for Kentucky workers to get a raise." Jensen was citing analysis of data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Representative Barr, an attorney, then tries to use his lawyer skills to twist the language in the face of evidence. "To the extent that there is job growth in those states, that's not because of the increase in the minimum wage; that's in spite of the increase in the minimum wage" Barr said, and he then went on to mention "states like North Dakota," as an example of a state that has seen job growth without raising the minimum wage.

Leaving aside the question of whether Kentuckians would prefer to live in Bismarck, or Fargo, North Dakota than Lexington, Paris, or Richmond, Kentucky, Barr's word tricks do not diminish the fact that jobs are growing faster on average in states that raised the wage this year than in states that have kept wages low. Economists may not be able to say whether job growth is faster despite the better wages or because of the better wages, but the fact remains job growth is faster in the states that raised wages than in the states that did not.

Here is a like to the video of the exchange: http://youtu.be/e3WHLf1KSyc

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