An enormous amount of bills have already been filed in the Texas House and Senate, as lawmakers were able to begin prefiling bills for the 88th Legislative Session on Monday.
Despite record levels of inflation, State Rep. Ron Reynolds (D–Missouri City) has already filed House Bill 169 to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Similarly, State Rep. Lina Ortega (D–El Paso) filed House Bill 193, which would permit counties to increase the minimum wage within their boundaries.
As of publication, these are the only two bills that seek to increase the minimum wage.
In a time when inflation has reached a 40-year high, Texas Democrats are proposing a solution many critics say would exacerbate the situation. In a study by the Congressional Budget Office, the expected impact of a minimum wage increase to $15 would leave 1.4 million Americans unemployed.
Raising the minimum wage would increase the cost of employing low-wage workers. As a result, some employers would employ fewer workers than they would have under a lower minimum wage.
Big Business stands to gain from wage hikes, while small businesses have everything to lose. Many left-wing corporations like Amazon openly advocate for a $15 minimum wage, despite already paying their workers $15 per hour since 2018.
A commentary by the Washington Examiner notes, “The Amazons of the world have enormous resources to weather a large wage hike. But mom and pop stores, even in the best of times, do not,” adding that “eliminating competitors and passing on the costs to consumers is great news for Amazon’s bottom line.”
Another Congressional Budget Office report also found that minimum wage hikes would increase interest rates, which would affect mortgages, car loans, and other financial products required to raise a family.
Citizens concerned about minimum wage hikes can find legislators’ contact information using Texas Scorecard’s directory
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