tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214951.post117068748831561310..comments2024-03-17T08:07:12.695-05:00Comments on Between The Lines: Barring good sense, minimum wage hike set to hurt LAJeff Sadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972004592729833310noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214951.post-1170727629825559262007-02-05T20:07:00.000-06:002007-02-05T20:07:00.000-06:00What about the economics of changing the wage diff...What about the economics of changing the wage differential has on the recovery from Katrina? If the minimum (or what New Orleans has to pay to attract workers) wage in New Orleans is say $8/hour and it is $5.25 in Houston, that should help in bringing people back to New Orleans. Artificially narrowing the difference either means less incentive to come back or local businesses must increase wage to keep the different the same. I think that local businesses have been very good about absorbing their increased cost, probably because they view it as short term and their contribution to the recovery effort. Having to pay $2 or $3 more per hour will either drive up prices or cause businesses to close. Raising the state or national minimum wage is probably not going to be a good thing for New Orleans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com