05/23/2023 04:20 PM EDT
In a new memo obtained by POLITICO, experts criticized the changes to the state’s minimum wage included in the state budget agreement between the governor and the Legislature.
Instead of boosting low-wage New Yorkers, the measure fails to help them keep up with the rising cost of living, according to the report from the Robin Hood Foundation.
The budget i ncludes increasing the hourly rate downstate from $15 an hour to $16 an hour in 2024. Upstate, the rate will increase from $14.20 an hour currently to $15 an hour. Both will increase by 50 cents to hit $17 an hour and $16 an hour, respectively, by 2026. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2027, the wages will be annually indexed to inflation based on the Consumer Price Index.
Some lawmakers wanted a higher wage more quickly, but Gov. Kathy Hochul has touted the deal in the budget as a way to boost employees.
‘After the wage goes fully into effect in 2027, from this day forward, it’ll be indexed to inflation, so when prices go up, your wages will go up, and that’s what we accomplished here. That’ll help 900,000 New Yorkers get a pay increase, and I’m really proud of that.,” Hochul said last week in Buffalo.
But some experts rejected Hochul’s optimistic view, saying the state missed an opportunity to raise wages higher.
Jason Cone — the chief public policy officer for the Robin Hood Foundation and one of the authors of the report with Paul Sonn, state director for...
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