Auditor General DePasquale Calls for Increasing Minimum Wage to Help Boost State Economy

Increase Could Alleviate Some Pressure on Social Safety Net, State Budget

December 18 2013

Auditor General DePasquale Calls for Increasing Minimum Wage to Help Boost State Economy

Increase Could Alleviate Some Pressure on Social Safety Net, State Budget

PITTSBURGH (Dec. 18, 2013)– Auditor General Eugene DePasquale today said raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania is the right thing to do for workers, the economy and the state budget.

“Raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do, especially when there are hard working men and women here in Pittsburgh, and across Pennsylvania, putting in 40-hour weeks and still falling below the poverty level,” DePasquale said in a news conference here today.

He noted that at the current minimum wage, a full-time worker earns just $15,080 per year — more than $4,000 below the federal poverty level for a family of three — which increases the demands on social safety net programs.

“I know that raising the minimum wage is a controversial issue, but from a fiscal watchdog and economic perspective it makes sense to look at the bigger picture,” DePasquale said.

“Increasing the minimum wage not only helps these workers and their families, but it directly benefits the economy because they will turn around and buy more of the things they need to survive. The additional income and sales taxes will provide more state revenue to help plug the projected budget deficit next year.

“It is already clear that there is going to be another tough state budget debate next year. Instead of doing the same thing as always in Harrisburg — looking for more areas to cut funding — we should take a proactive approach to generate revenue by putting money in the hands of hard-working people who need it most.”

Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia — including New York, New Jersey and Ohio — have already taken action to raise their minimum wage above the federal level.

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