Kshama Sawant’s response to $15 hour study is bad governance

The Seattle City Council wanted an unbiased look at the $15 minimum wage in the city. So, of course, when the results didn’t match what council member Kshama Sawant had been selling, she attacked the integrity of the source. And that’s what we call bad governance.

We are starting to see some of the effects of the minimum wage hikes in Seattle, and it hasn’t been good for workers. When the city implemented this law, they said they would hire independent economists and analysts who can look at the effects of the law. And what they discovered is that they, yes, they are making more per hour, but they are getting fewer hours. Employers are cutting back not only the number of hours for employed workers but are not opening up as many positions.

But, the cult that is $15 an hour is going after the researchers. This is important for all of us, whether you live in Seattle or not, because there is a statewide minimum-wage hike on the ballot this fall, and the fact is that this may not be the panacea that the cultists claim it to be.

One of the researchers who is under attack by politicians like Sawant is University of Washington professor Jacob Vigdor. Basically, he found any increase in hourly rate was offset by a reduction in jobs or hours within a few dollars a week. Bottom line, it had almost zero effect on the bottom line for workers. Now the researchers are cross-checking the data and another report covering 2016 won’t be ready until next summer.

But Sawant didn’t just blast the findings, she went after Vigdor’s pride. From a Seattle Times story: “In a letter addressed to Vigdor on Tuesday, Sawant questioned the studies’ methodology and Vigdor’s objectivity.” She also highlighted something Vigdor said to me previously on my (non-liberal, oh no!)  show, arguing that his talking to me was evidence that he was skewing the results.

Seattle is a canary in the coal mine for other cities pushing to do this. Having spent my whole life in the private sector, having been a business owner, and understanding a little bit of economics, I know that there is a cause and effect and that you can’t just raise the wages without some sort of counter-balancing effect. That was Vigdor’s job.

So what does Sawant do? She complains.

As I look at this back-and-forth between her and the UW team’s research, it strikes me that she, as a public figure, has an obligation for some measure of objectivity but that she’s looking for an end result that will justify her means. That’s just an irresponsible approach. Especially with something as significant as imposing a dramatically higher minimum wage on businesses and for workers.

I get that Vigdor’s got a thick skin. But, for me, as a watchdog of government, I want them to approach this with some of objectivity and if they are rejecting good research because it doesn’t bolster the case they’re making, I think that’s really bad governance. Of course, leave it to Vigdor to be the rational adult.

“I would hope that people would look at the research and judge it on the basis of the research, and not on the basis of what any particular elected official said about it,” he said. “I really tried to encourage people who have questions or just really want to decide for themselves, to make up their own mind about it, we wrote this study to be accessible to anybody. It’s not just for our economist buddies to read. Don’t let any elected official tell you what the study says. It’s out there; you can read it yourself.”

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