How One State Made the Minimum Wage Meaningless

[Geee]

Heritage Foundation:

DICKINSON, N.D.—As policymakers in Washington, D.C., debate raising the federal minimum wage, entry-level workers in North Dakota enjoy pay levels nearly twice the current federal minimum.

 

“Effectively, our minimum wage in town is $14 an hour,” claims Shawn Kessel, administrator for the City of Dickinson, a community in North Dakota’s booming oil fields.

 

Kessel isn’t basing his estimate on any official survey, but rather his own observations. He discusses wages with local business leaders and tracks the wages offered in job listings in his city. He’s convinced the number is accurate, and it is certainly in line with other data and observations in the state.