INDIANA, (WOWO): Indiana's leading small business group is urging U.S. Senators Dan Coats and Joe Donnelly to oppose legislation that would raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.15 an hour and then every year automatically based on inflation.
Leaders with the Indiana chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business say nothing would derail efforts faster than a heavy-handed mandate from Washington that drives up business costs.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected this week to move legislation that the federation says will ultimately cause workforce cuts and higher prices for consumers. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than three percent of all hourly workers in Indiana currently earn the minimum wage–typically teenagers and young adults working part time or just breaking into the workforce.
“The people who are going to be hurt by this are people who are just entering the workforce and who need the experience that these jobs offer,” said Barbara Quandt with the Indiana NFIB. “Minimum wage jobs are a lot more valuable than the hourly pay. They provide teenagers and young people with a chance to learn skills and work habits that they need to climb the ladder. And they provide small businesses with affordable labor that allows them to be competitive.”
A permanently increasing federal minimum wage would come on the heals of the controversial Affordable Care Act that has already roiled the labor and insurance markets for Indiana small businesses.
“Washington has caused enough damage to the economy without another big mandate on small employers,” said Quandt. “We don’t need Washington telling us how to run our businesses and we certainly can’t afford to lose more jobs because of their intrusions.”
Quandt urged Senators Coats and Donnelly to oppose the bill (S-1737), which may be voted on as early as next week in the US Senate.
“Dan Coats and Joe Donnelly know that Indiana small businesses can’t afford this and we very strongly urge them to vote against it and tell their colleagues that we’re doing just fine without them.”
