The New Math.
Over the weekend, Governor Greitens of Missouri signed a bill reducing the minimum wage in St. Louis from $10/hr to $7.70/hr, rather than allow the increase to $11/hr that was set to take place in January 2018.
Note that each of the following have been steadily rising in St. Louis in recent years: property values, property taxes, housing rental rates, utility rates, and sales taxes.
Note that many minimum wage workers already contend with an unpredictable income due to creative shift scheduling in the food service industry.
Note that poverty and homelessness breed desperation and desperation breeds crime. Note that Governor Greitens ran on a “tough-on-crime” platform, and that as a former Navy SEAL he champions greater police empowerment as the solution to St. Louis’ violence problem. Note that the St. Louis Police Department has a long and documented history of racial bias and a more recent history of increased militarization.
Note that the majority demographic of St. Louis is African-American, and that nationwide more African-Americans work in minimum wage jobs than any other population.
I have no advanced degrees in economics or sociology to speak of, so take my predictions without such pedigrees.
But I tend to think this legislative decision is not going to go very well for the people of St. Louis on multiple levels, and they have my sympathies in advance.
Creative Control 