October 2014
BRIEF
Raising the Minimum Wage:
Hurting Those Who Need Help the Most
BY Dick Clark
Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Minimum Wage Laws, Past and Present. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Economics of the Minimum Wage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
w ww . p l a tte instit ute . org
Who Will Be Affected by a Higher Minimum Wage? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Research on the Effects of Minimum Wage Increases. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Endnotes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
About the Author
Dick Clark is Director of Research for the Platte
Institute for Economic Research. He has been
involved in public policy work for more than a decade. Prior to joining the Platte Institute in 2013, he
served Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman as policy
advisor for labor, economic development, technology, and government operations. He has written
on numerous policy issues, including health care,
education, taxation, government spending, government transparency, corrections, juvenile justice, and
minimum wage laws. Dick completed his undergraduate studies at Auburn University and earned
his law degree from Suffolk University Law School.
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Suite 400
Omaha, NE 68114
402.452.3737
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Platte Institute Policy Brief
Introduction
On January 1, 2014, minimum wages were increased in
thirteen states. In his 2013 State of the Union address,
President Barack Obama called for an increase in the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.1 Nebraska voters
will be asked to weigh in on the minimum wage this coming November. Petitions submitted on July 32 were verified
by the Secretary of State as having met constitutional requirements,3 and voters will be presented with the question
of whether or not to increase the state’s minimum wage
from $7.25, the current federal minimum wage, to $8.00
in 2015 and then to $9.00 at the beginning of 2016.4 Nebraska’s current minimum wage for most hourly workers
is $7.25,5 the same as the current federal minimum wage.
Although recent state legislative proposals included changes for both the general minimum wage and the minimum
wage for employees primarily compensated through gratuities, petition sponsors did not propose changing the latter
in language that will be presented to voters in November.
In this brief, we will first examine the history of these laws
and review the regulatory status quo in Nebraska. Next, we
will analyze minimum wage laws through the lens of economic science and look at who it is that is most affected by
these government policies. Finally, we will review some of the
most influential economic research into the effects of government wage controls, and draw conclusions about the impact
of the proposed minimum wage increase for Nebraska.
Minimum Wage Laws, Past and
Present
Minimum wage laws first emerged in the late nineteenth
century on the other side of the globe, in Australia and
New Zealand. The proposal to enact a minimum wage had
emerged as part of a list of concessions demanded by gold
miners in the Eureka Rebellion in Victoria, Australia in
1856. The demand for a government price floor on wages
first became law in these South Pacific countries in 1894,
but the purpose was not uniform protection of workers’
rights.6 In 1925, a minimum wage law was enacted in British Columbia, with the protectionist purpose of benefiting
native workers by preventing price competition from Japanese laborers in the lumber trade.7
A number of American states passed minimum wage laws
during the Progressive Era, but courts consistently ruled
them unconstitutional.8 They first entered the national
scene during the Great Depression, in the form of the
Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. The Act mandated that local
prevailing wage rates be paid for work contracted by the
federal government or with federal government financing.
A general minimum wage in the United States was first
enacted as part of the expansive price-fixing powers granted
to the National Recovery Administration. The NRA was
created by the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933
(NIRA), part of Roosevelt’s New Deal.9 After NIRA was
MYTH: Minimum wage increases guarantee higher take-home pay for full-time workers.
FACT: Legislation can’t guarantee that full-time workers currently making at or
near the minimum wage will earn increased income. The number of minimum wage work-
ers working part-time is double the number working full-time. If an employer must spend more of an
enterprise’s limited resources on hourly wages for the same number of workers, they may be forced to cut
back on worker hours. This could leave some workers with reduced working hours, or could even result in
workforce reductions.
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Raising the Minimum Wage: Hurting Those Who Need Help the Most
ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935,10
Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938,
legislation which included authorization for a new federal minimum wage.11 Unlike NIRA, the FLSA survived a
court challenge and was determined by the Supreme Court
to be constitutional in 1941.12
The State of Nebraska first enacted its own minimum wage
in 1967, when legislators passed the state’s Wage and Hour
Act.13 The purpose of the act in establishing a minimum
wage was to “safeguard existing minimum wage compensation standards which are adequate to maintain the health,
efficient and general well-being of workers against the unfair competition of wage and hours standards which do not
provide adequate standards of living.”14 In today’s popular
parlance, its stated purpose was to mandate a “living wage”
for workers.
The Economics of the Minimum
Wage
No minimum wage law can be sufficient to guarantee that
all workers will earn a living wage. The economics of the
minimum wage are clear: any price floor for wages that is
set above the market rate costs jobs and slows new job creation. The Law of Supply and Demand provides that when
prices rise, demand will decline as a result.
Private employers value workers based on the productivity
they bring to an enterprise. This added productivity, described by economists as the “marginal revenue product” of
that worker, must exceed the cost of employing the worker
in order for the business to benefit from hiring him. Mandating a higher minimum wage means outlawing employment that cannot be compensated at the higher, legal rate.
As economist Murray Rothbard explained,
There is only one way to regard a minimum-wage
law: it is compulsory unemployment, period. The
law says, it is illegal, and therefore criminal, for
anyone to hire anyone else below the level of X dollars an hour. This means, plainly and simply, that a
large number of free and voluntary wage contracts
are now outlawed and hence that there will be a
large amount of unemployment. Remember that
the minimum-wage law provides no jobs; it only
outlaws them; and outlawed jobs are the inevitable
result . . . . Laws that prohibit employment at any
wage that is relevant to the market (a minimum
wage of 10 cents an hour would have little or no
impact) must result in outlawing employment and
hence causing unemployment.15
Although proponents of raising the minimum wage sometimes deny this basic economic analysis in their rhetorical
support for these policies, legislators have explicitly recognized the negative effect of minimum wage laws on opportunities for workers. This is why the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 included exemptions in the federal minimum
wage law for employers who employ mentally or physically
disabled workers. The law provides that the Secretary of
Labor “to the extent necessary to prevent curtailment of
opportunities for employment, shall by regulation or order
provide for the employment, under special certifications,
of individuals . . . whose earning or productive capacity is
impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury,
at wages which are lower than the minimum wage.” Studies suggest that more than 300,000 American workers earn
subminimum wages authorized by these ”14(c) permits.”16
Rather than guaranteeing a living wage for disabled or infirm workers, who are presumably in greatest need of external support, the law recognizes that their lower earning capacity is the result of their impaired productivity and that
forbidding a lower wage would eliminate jobs that they
might otherwise be able to secure.17 Why then, are other
4
Platte Institute Policy Brief
workers with low productivity not given the opportunity
to work and gain experience that will naturally enhance
both their productivity and personal income?
The minimum wage is really economic protectionism for
more expensive, organized labor, because higher-wage
workers gain an advantage from government regulations
that outlaw competition from cheaper alternatives. This
anti-competitiveness is even more significant when considering regional and national market conditions.
If the minimum wage was $8 and the union wage
was $40, employers give up five hours of lowskilled work for every union worker-hour utilized.
But increasing the minimum to $10 means employers give up four hours of low-skilled work for
every union worker hour . . . . Workers and employers in high cost of living areas, where virtually
everyone earns above the federal minimum wage,
benefit, by raising the cost of production imposed
on rivals where wages are lower.18
Besides putting some people out of work and preventing
new workers from getting jobs to begin with, minimum
wage laws also create negative externalities for the general
population. The minimum wage reduces overall economic
productivity, causes consumer prices to rise, hurts exports,
slows population growth, weakens real estate values, and
reduces economic competitiveness with neighboring jurisdictions with lower labor costs.19
Among its neighbors, Nebraska’s current minimum wage
presents a relatively low hurdle for workers. Nebraska,
Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, and Wyoming all have an effective minimum wage identical to the federal minimum
wage of $7.25 per hour. Missouri’s minimum wage is currently $7.50 per hour, and its minimum wage law provides
for cost-of-living adjustments. Colorado’s minimum wage
is $8.00 per hour and also features cost-of-living adjustments.20 If voters approve the November ballot question,
Nebraska’s minimum wage would jump to a higher level
than all of its neighbors but Colorado starting January
2015, and would move even higher than Colorado’s current minimum at the beginning of 2016.
Because Nebraska is a low cost-of-living state with low labor costs compared to other states, the adverse effects of
a minimum wage increase will be more pronounced in
MYTH: Minimum wage floor increases will stimulate the economy because workers will
spend more money on goods and services.
FACT: Demand for goods and services would rise if wages rose through increased
productivity or investment, but that is because workers would be able to provide more
goods and services at lower costs, leaving more income left over to make purchases.
In the case of government-mandated wage increases, the same workers work at the same productivity but
with increased hourly costs. When labor costs go up without a corresponding bump in what is produced, a
business operator must either cut hours, raise prices, or invest in costly technology that increases the productivity of each worker. Price increases prevent workers from gaining more purchasing power for the money
they do earn. New capital investments in productivity-boosting technology grow worker productivity, but
will reduce the number of workers needed for each customer served. Reductions in the number of jobs available prevent the growth of skills, income, and spending by those who are not able to secure employment.
5
Raising the Minimum Wage: Hurting Those Who Need Help the Most
Nebraska than in states with relatively high market wages
and high costs of living. As Creighton economist Michael
Thomas recently explained,
Businesses can relocate to places with lower cost of
living to take advantage of lower wages that actually go further than higher wages would go elsewhere . . . . [When] minimum wages are higher,
or if a higher national minimum wage is enacted,
much of the cost advantage of places like Nebraska
starts to go away.21
Who Will Be Affected by a
Higher Minimum Wage?
While the impact of minimum wage laws is felt across the
economy, the most acute effects are on the population for
which the laws are supposed to provide relief: low-skill
workers whose limited work productivity does not justify
higher market wages. However, contrary to the promises
of advocates for minimum wage hikes, the net effects are
negative, not positive, for these workers.
To examine the effect of minimum wage laws, it is useful to
first examine the population for which these price floors are
relevant. While it may come as a surprise to many, the fact
is that most minimum wage earners are young, part-time
workers mostly living above the poverty line. Average family income for these workers is over $53,000.22
According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report on minimum wage workers, minimum wage workers
tend to be young. While workers under 25 years of age
comprise only a fifth of hourly workers, they make up
about half of those earning the federal minimum wage or
less.23 Most older workers earn higher wages, with only
about 3 percent of workers age 25 or older earning the federal minimum wage or less.24
Educational attainment is also highly correlated with wage
levels. Almost 10 percent of high-school dropouts earn
MYTH: Absent a wage floor increase, a single mom working a minimum wage job full-
time is currently resigned to live in poverty.
FACT: Nebraska currently has one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates and
enjoys one of the lowest state poverty rates in the country.
The vast majority of minimum wage workers are not from families struggling through poverty. Only about
six percent of minimum wage workers over age 24 are single parents working full-time, which is about the
same rate as the rest of the workforce. Thankfully, most individuals living in poverty are only there for a
short time. U.S. Department of Commerce statistics indicate that of those in poverty for two months or
more, half rise out of poverty within four months, and the vast majority escape poverty within one year,
with a median duration of six to seven months.
This does not mean that more should not be done to alleviate poverty in Nebraska, but raising wage
floors is a decidedly ineffective way to assist low-income families. These workers have greater opportunities for upward mobility when work is plentiful. The best solution for all low-wage earners is to boost
their skills through work experience and training. That boost is much more difficult to come by for the
unemployed.
6
Platte Institute Policy Brief
minimum wage or less, compared with 3.8 percent of high
school graduates who did not attend college, and only 2.1
percent of college graduates. But getting a boost from further education does not necessarily require completion of
four years of college. Workers who earned associate’s degrees in occupational programs were as likely as workers
who completed a bachelor’s degree to earn more than the
minimum wage.25
Women are more likely to earn minimum wage or less
than are men, at 5 percent versus 3 percent respectively.26
Race and ethnicity are not as significant as they once were,
though black workers are still more likely than white workers or Latinos to earn the minimum wage or less. Asian
workers were the least likely to earn the federal minimum
wage or less among the major race and ethnicity groups.27
Unsurprisingly, occupational groups that do not require
high levels of education or experience on the part of workers are the ones that also feature the greatest number of
minimum wage employees. Almost two-thirds of those
earning the federal minimum or less in 2013 were in the
service industry, mostly working in food preparation and
food service.28
About 4.3 percent of all hourly employees nationwide earn
a wage equal to or less than the federal minimum wage. In
Nebraska, with its lower cost of living, about 5.1 percent of
hourly workers earn minimum wage or less.29 This means
a boost in the Nebraska minimum wage will impact more
workers here than would an increase in states with higher
average wages at the outset. And since Nebraska relies more
on minimum wage workers than other states, the anticompetitive impact of a higher minimum wage would be even
greater.
A minimum wage increase will cause consumer prices to
rise, but they will not rise uniformly. Rather, it will be those
goods and services currently provided by low-wage workers
that will become noticeably more expensive. Fast-food restaurants are increasingly turning to automation,30 but for
traditional restaurants a hike in the wage paid to dishwashers and others not primarily paid via gratuity will mean
that menu prices must rise to compensate.31 Retailers using
low-wage workers as sales staff will also find it more difficult to compete on price with online sellers whose employment costs are centered around higher-wage warehouse
and technology work—jobs that will be largely unaffected
by a minimum wage increase.32
Research on the Effects of
Minimum Wage Increases
Contrary to the claims of its advocates, a sizable majority of
economic studies show that increases in the minimum wage
have negative employment effects.33 A survey of economics
literature by David Neumark and William Wascher revealed
virtually no published research indicating that minimum
wage laws have a positive effect on employment. The same
review found that studies focusing on the impact of minimum wage laws on the most vulnerable segments of the
workforce present “overwhelming evidence” that minimum
wage hikes result in serious disemployment effects for laborers with the least valuable skills.34 Enacting a higher minimum wage did not reduce poverty, but instead redistributed
income among low-income families.35 Perversely, higher
minimum wages also tended to discourage completion of
high school and technical training programs.36
Proponents of raising the minimum wage often cite a 1994
study by economists David Card and Alan Krueger to support the claim that minimum wage increases do not result
in job loss. Their research into the effects of a 1992 increase
in the New Jersey minimum wage surveyed fast-food restaurants in New Jersey and neighboring Pennsylvania—
with its minimum wage unchanged—to estimate the effect
of the higher minimum wage on employment. Their conclusions contradicted the “textbook model” of minimum
wage analysis, and the authors asserted that the data did not
indicate employment was reduced as a result of the higher
mandated wage.37 Other economists have since thoroughly
critiqued their survey methodology and data quality.38 Although notable policymakers and officials (including President Clinton) continued to tout the 1994 study,39 Card and
Krueger eventually retracted their claims.40
A subsequent study by Saul Hoffman and Diane Trace contradicted Card and Krueger’s original findings. Examining
transborder labor effects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
on all workers—not just those employed in the fast-food
industry—Hoffman and Trace found “consistent evidence
that employment of ‘at-risk’ groups was negatively affected” by increases in the minimum wage.41
7
Raising the Minimum Wage: Hurting Those Who Need Help the Most
A June 2014 publication by the Center for Economic and
Policy Research (CEPR) claimed that job growth was faster
in the states with higher minimum wage levels.42 However,
further examination of the underlying data shows that the
states that raised their minimum wage levels had substantially higher unemployment than other states to begin with. A
state that starts with greater than 10 percent unemployment
may add many jobs but still not be situated as favorably as a
state with lower unemployment to begin with.43
A 2013 study by Jonathan Meer and Jeremy West found
some locales where employment growth continued after
the minimum wage was increased. However, the authors
determined the growth was likely attributable to pre-existing trends rather than the legal wage increase. The data
8
suggested that overall job growth, though still positive, was
substantially diminished.44
In February 2014, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the impact of the President’s minimum wage proposal. It found that a $9 per hour minimum wage implemented in the second half of 2016 would likely cost
100,000 to 200,000 jobs nationwide. A $10.10 minimum
wage would naturally cost even more jobs, with the CBO
estimating that between 500,000 and 1 million jobs would
be lost.45
Researchers studying the likely impact of a minimum wage
increase in Maryland recently summarized the scholarly
consensus on the impact of raising the minimum wage:
Platte Institute Policy Brief
Raising the minimum wage has economic consequences: it reduces employment particularly among
low-skilled workers; increases wages of affected
workers but at the expense of low-wage workers losing their jobs; has no net effect on low-income families or on reducing poverty rates; produces negative
effects on skills and school completion rates; raises
prices particularly for goods and services in retail/
hospitality, construction and health care sectors;
weakens the local economies’ competitive position
in regional markets; and, over the long term, may
lower the earnings of workers later in their work life
who were the beneficiaries of increases in minimum
wage rates as teenager workers.46
Conclusion
It is only a combination of work experience and education that can sustainably raise low-skill workers’ standards
of living by boosting their productivity and their personal
earning potential. Legally prohibiting the employment of
lower-skill workers means blocking opportunities for vi-
tal work experience that can grow a worker’s productivity.
Because of the demographics of minimum wage earners,
these lost opportunities will disproportionately hurt young
workers, those with lower education attainment, women,
and—to a lesser extent—racial and ethnic minorities.
Workforce development is critically important for Nebraska, which is already confronting demographic challenges
relating to out-migration and an aging workforce.47 As the
minimum wage discussion continues, Nebraskans should
be mindful of the benefits of a competitive labor market.
Raising the minimum wage would hurt the most vulnerable workers first, but it would ultimately mean higher
prices for consumers, less competitive exports, and a less
productive state economy.
In contrast, policies that promote the development of a
more productive workforce through greater educational
and employment opportunities will naturally grow wages without simultaneously exacerbating unemployment.
Wages are already on the rise in the Midwest.48 Nebraska
should be careful not to disrupt that welcome trend.
MYTH: Minimum wage floor increases will help reduce poverty rates and dependency on
public assistance programs.
FACT: One reason Nebraska has a low unemployment rate already is that the rela-
tive value of welfare benefits does not outweigh the value of taking entry-level work at
or near minimum wage.
Most Nebraskans living below the poverty line do not currently work, and wage floor increases for workers
will result in fewer of these workers becoming employed. If the minimum wage is increased, fewer starting
jobs will be available to workers at risk of poverty, educational attainment is likely to decline, and the need
for public assistance may actually increase.
9
Raising the Minimum Wage: Hurting Those Who Need Help the Most
Endnotes
1. Fuller, Stephen S., Parker Bedsole, and Scott Nystrom. “The Impact of Raising the Minimum Wage on
the Maryland Economy.” Regional Economic Models,
Inc. January 2014.
2. Stoddard, Martha “Petition drive to raise Nebraska’s
minimum wage has more than 130,000 signatures.”
Omaha World-Herald. July 4, 2014. [URL: http://
www.omaha.com/news/metro/petition-drive-toraise-nebraska-s-minimum-wage-has-more/article_
d7093fe8-02f0-11e4-9596-0017a43b2370.html]
3. Chokshi, Niraj. “A minimum wage hike makes the
Nebraska ballot, after qualifying in South Dakota
and Alaska, too.” Washington Post. August 15, 2014.
[URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/08/18/a-minimum-wage-hike-makesthe-nebraska-ballot-after-qualifying-in-south-dakotaand-alaska-too/]
4. Initiative Petition. Received May 6, 2014. Nebraska
Secretary of State.
5. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-1203 (2007).
6. Nystrom, Scott. Presentation: “The Macroeconomic
Impact of Changing the Minimum Wage.” Regional
Economic Models, Inc. 2014.
17.Ibid.
18.Galles, Gary. “How Special-Interest Groups Benefit
from Minimum Wage Laws.” Ludwig von Mises
Institute. February 15, 2014.
19.Fuller, Stephen S., Parker Bedsole, and Scott Nystrom. “The Impact of Raising the Minimum Wage on
the Maryland Economy.” Regional Economic Models,
Inc. January 2014. pp. 20–21.
20.“Minimum Wage Laws in the States.” Wage and
Hour Division. Unites States Department of Labor.
January 1, 2014. [URL: http://www.dol.gov/whd/
minwage/america.htm]
21.Thomas, Michael D. “Higher Minimum Wage Means
Fewer Opportunities for Workers.” Platte Institute for
Economic Research. August 6, 2014.
22.Sherk, James. “Who Earns the Minimum Wage?
Suburban Teenagers, Not Single Parents.” Issue Brief
#3866. Heritage Foundation. February 28, 2013.
23.“Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers, 2013.”
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Report
1048. March 2014. [URL: http://www.bls.gov/cps/
minwage2013.pdf ]
24.Ibid., pp. 1–2.
25.Ibid., Table 6.
7. Ibid.
26.Ibid., p. 2.
8.Nystrom.
27.Ibid., p. 2.
9. Ibid.
28.Ibid., Table 4.
10.A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295
U.S. 495 (1935).
29.Ibid., Table 3.
11.Nystrom 2014.
12.United States v. Darby Lumber Co., 312 U.S. 100
(1941).
13.Currently codified as Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-1201 to
48-1209.
14.Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-1201 (2007).
15.Rothbard, Murray N. “Outlawing Jobs: The Minimum Wage, Once More.” Making Economic Sense.
Ludwig von Mises Institute. 1995.
16.Freiling, Nicholas. “Even the Feds Admit Minimum
Wages Cause Unemployment.” Ludwig von Mises
Institute. June 17, 2014. Citing the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
10
30.Hu, Elise. “The Fast-Food Restaurants That Require
Few Human Workers.” NPR. August 29, 2013.
[URL: http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/08/28/216541023/the-fast-food-restaurants-that-require-few-human-workers]
31.Wong, Venessa. “When the Minimum Wage Goes
Up, the Menu Price Also Rises.” Business Week. February 25, 2014. [URL: http://www.businessweek.com/
articles/2014-02-25/when-minimum-wage-goes-upthe-menu-price-also-rises]
32.Fox, Emily Jane. “How Amazon’s new jobs really stack
up.” CNN Money. July 20, 2013. [URL: http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/30/news/companies/amazonwarehouse-workers/]
Platte Institute Policy Brief
33.Neumark, David and William L. Wascher. “Minimum Wages and Employment: A Review of Evidence
from the New Minimum Wage Research.” Working
Paper 12663. National Bureau of Economic Research.
November 2006. [URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/
w12663]
41.Ibid.
34.Ibid.
43.Thomas.
35. Fuller et al., citing Neumark, David and William L.
Wascher. Minimum Wages. MIT Press. 2010.
44.Meer, Jonathan and Jeremy West. “Effects of Minimum Wage on Employment Dynamics.” Texas A&M
University. December 2013. [URL: http://econweb.
tamu.edu/jmeer/Meer_West_Minimum_Wage.pdf ]
36.Ibid., p. 4.
37.Card, David and Alan B. Krueger. “Minimum Wages
and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food
Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.” American
Economic Review. Vol. 84, no. 4. September 1994.
[URL: http://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/njminaer.pdf ]
38.Hoffman, Saul D. and Diane M. Trace. “NJ and PA
Once Again: What Happened to Employment When
the PA-NJ Minimum Wage Differential Disappeared?” Eastern Economic Journal. Winter 2009.
[URL: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/eej/journal/
v35/n1/full/eej20081a.html] pp. 115–116.
39.Ibid.
40.Morin, Greg. “Welfare, Minimum Wages, and Unemployment.” Ludwig von Mises Institute. January 16,
2014.
42.Wolcott, Ben. “2014 Job Creation Faster in States
that Raised the Minimum Wage.” Center for Economic and Policy Research. June 30, 2014. [URL:
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/2014job-creation-in-states-that-raised-the-minimum-wage]
45.“Estimated Effects on Employment of an Increase in
the Federal Minimum Wage, Second Half of 2016.”
Congressional Budget Office. February 2014.
46.Fuller et al., pp. 1–2.
47.“State Taxation and Migration.” Platte Chat. Platte
Institute for Economic Research. January 15, 2014.
[URL: http://www.platteinstitute.org/research/detail/
state-taxation-and-migration]
48.Jordon, Steve. “New jobs, rising wages in the forecast
for Midwestern economy.” Omaha World-Herald.
February 3, 2014. [URL: http://www.omaha.com/
money/new-jobs-rising-wages-in-the-forecast-formidwestern-economy/article_528a3a97-615b-56d4be26-f894dde2d7bc.html]
11
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General counsel for The
Buckle Inc., Kearney since
1998. Served as first vice president and trial attorney for the
Mutual of Omaha Companies
and as an attorney at Kutak
Rock law firm, Omaha. On
the boards of Faith Christian
School and Kearney Area
Family YMCA.
Former president and
chairman of Hiner Implement, Inc., and president/
chairman of Hiner Lease
Company. He has served as
a board member of the Kosman Banking Family since
1990 (now Platte Valley
Companies).