Raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour would reduce federal food stamp spending by $4.6 billion a year, according to a report to be released Wednesday by the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress.
The proposal, a top legislative priority for President Obama and congressional Democrats, would reduce enrollment in the food stamp program by as much as 9.2 percent, the report said.
A report last month from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said about 15 percent of the nation’s workforce would see wages rise under Obama’s plan to raise the minimum wage, adding that the increase would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.
Democrats are making a midterm election year push to raise the federal minimum wage. Reid Wilson takes a look at what that would mean for two cities. (/)
The CAP report, which was written by University of California Berkeley researchers Rachel West and Michael Reich, is the latest in a line of research highlighting the connection between low-wage work and government support programs.
Last year, a report done by researchers at Berkeley and the University of Illinois asserted that taxpayers are spending nearly $7 billion a year to supplement the wages of fast-food workers, many of whom earn the minimum wage or close to it.
“What is the best way to make people independent and be able to sustain their standard of living without having to depend on government support?,” Reich asked. “It turns out that...
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