Business will watch, weigh in on wage plans
ALBANY — When it comes to legislation, the reality for business leaders in New York is that they are often on the defensive — watching out for initiatives they believe will hurt them, such as new regulations, taxes, fees or other impediments to competitiveness.
To be fair, New York like all states gives out its share of grants and tax exemptions to targeted industries and favored players.
But for those who follow the gritty day-to-day workings of a legislative session, the job entails watching out for proposed new rules or taxes and being prepared to block or ameliorate them.
With that in mind, New York’s business community this legislative session will be following and weighing in on a plan, already endorsed by Gov. Kathy
Hochul, to index the minimum wage to inflation.
New York’s minimum wage just increased to $14.20 per hour for upstate workers. Downstate, or Westchester, New York City and Long Island, it is $15.
Right now, two broad possibilities for indexing are under discussion.
A legislative proposal, spearheaded by Assemblywoman LaToya Joyner and Sen. Jessica Ramos, both Democrats, would raise the minimum wage to $21.25 by 2026 in New York City, Westchester County and Long Island.
Upstate, it would rise to $20 an hour by 2026. Increases would also be tied to productivity, which proponents say would help spread out the gains made by advances in technology and automation. That could help close many of the existing wage gaps say supporters such as Russell Weaver, research director at Cornell’s Industrial Labor Relations school Buffalo unit.
On the other hand, Hochul has called for indexing the current wage to inflation.
Her raises would be based on increases in the Northeast Consumer Price Index for wage earners. There would be a cap on the size of increases and a waiver if economic conditions declined.
“The governor’s proposal is more manageable than what the Legislature has put out and for business, it’s an easier way to do it,” Patrick Bailey spokesman for the Business Council of New York State, said.
But any increase will have a cost and that could be inflationary, business analysts say.
“NFIB urges Governor Hochul and legislative leadership to move with deliberate caution when considering any new cost drivers on small businesses,
including wage mandates that will only add instability and increase financial pressure on Main Streets across the Empire State,” said Ashley Ranslow, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
The current high inflation is a major factor behind discussions of the minimum wage. Supporters of a higher wage cite rising costs in housing, food, energy and other basics as the need for better pay.
At the same time, though, countless businesses are still struggling to fill jobs, despite pay that is above the minimum in many locations.
Economists have looked at the issue of minimum wage in terms of what they call a living wage, or the actual pay needed in a given location to meet a family’s basic needs.
Cornell University’s school of Industrial Labor Relations has a website, https:// blogs.cornell.edu/livingwage/ where the public can compare wages with costs around the state. In many locations, people are earning enough to meet their needs, but there are exceptions in spots, especially in New York City. Moreover, there are a lot of people in the densely packed, high-cost areas of the city.
James Parrott, director of economic and fiscal policies at the New School in New York City, suggested in a recent hearing that more jobs would be filled if people are paid what they need to live.
He favors the Joyner/ Ramos plan.
Others worry that higher prices would offset largescale salary increases.
“When you raise wages ultimately, you’re going to end up raising prices,” said Peter Warren, research director for the fiscally conservative Empire Center.
Going into the legislative session, there will likely be multiple rounds of conflicting polls, studies, hearings and ultimately some backroom horse-trading as lawmakers and Hochul decide if and how to index minimum wage increases.
Still, most of those contacted by the Times Union believe some sort of indexing will be approved.
Lawmakers late last year gave themselves a $32,000-ayear raise, increasing their base pay to $142,000 annually.
That makes them the highest-paid state legislators in the nation, and puts them at about twice the median income of $75,000 per household — which can include families where both spouses work.
With that in mind, observers say, it would be hard to deny working New Yorkers the ability to earn more.