Better Ways to Fight Poverty than the Minimum Wage

Every January, states and cities across the country raise their minimum wages. There are also calls to raise the federal minimum wage, which has stayed put at $7.25 per hour since 2009. But if the goal is to fight poverty, the minimum wage isn’t up to the task. Rather than one charismatic reform that people can rally around, serious poverty reduction involves a wide swath of policies. I look at some of them in an op-ed being syndicated by Inside Sources:

Policymakers have plenty of ways to fight poverty. The minimum wage is not one of them, given its poor targeting and stark tradeoffs.

They may not sound as rousing at a protest rally, but the EITC [Earned Income Tax Credit], occupational licensing reform, repealing tariffs, reducing inflation, and addressing overregulation are all better ways to help people who need it the most.

Read the whole piece here. See also my study “Minimum Wages Have Tradeoffs.”