Taxes & Economy

Minimum Wage 

• August 5, 2025

Summary Findings by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) show that less than one percent of Pennsylvania workers (47,200) earn the minimum wage or…

Fact Sheet

Taxes & Economy

Minimum Wage

• March 23, 2023

Summary One percent of Pennsylvania workers earn the minimum wage, an all-time low.Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Recent analysis by Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal…

Fact Sheet

Downsides of the Minimum Wage

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 11, 2021

Thank you Chairman Roae, Chairman Galloway, and members of the House Commerce Committee for inviting the Commonwealth Foundation to testify on this persistent issue. I am Elizabeth Stelle, the Director…

Testimony

Regulation

Policy Memo: The Downside of Raising the Minimum Wage

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 6, 2017

In February, Gov. Wolf proposed raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $12, claiming a higher minimum wage will raise revenue, reduce welfare participation and spur job growth. These claims are…

Memo

Taxes & Economy

The Dark Side of Raising the Wage

• Elizabeth Stelle
• March 8, 2016

Eunice Medina is a childcare worker living in Oakland, California. Last March, the city instituted a $12.55 minimum wage, leaving Eunice with fewer workdays and reduced hours. Across the…

Media

Taxes & Economy

The Harmful Effects of a Minimum Wage Increase

• April 7, 2014

In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama proposed increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. Although it sounds beneficial to low-wage workers, minimum wage…

Fact Sheet

Taxes & Economy

Raising Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Will Result in Job Loss

• Nathan Benefield
• March 9, 2006

News release from Employment Policies Institute on PA minimum wage. Raising Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage Will Result in Job Loss for Low-SkilledEarned Income Tax Credit a Better Way…

Media

Taxes & Economy

Minimum Wage Politics, Bad Economic Policy

• Matthew Brouillette
• October 3, 2005

It wasn’t a corporate executive who said, “Right now Pennsylvania businesses carry a very high tax burden compared to states we compete with. We’re [a] very heavily taxed business state….

Commentary

Taxes & Economy

Singin’ Those Car Wash Blues

• Matthew Brouillette
• August 16, 2005

Setting aside the traditional economic arguments against increasing the state’s minimum wage rate, what impact would a proposal currently in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives have on employees in a…

Commentary