Islam, new in URS, talks economics of minimum wage proposal

A UW-Green Bay faculty member helped offer context for President Obama’s call to increase the minimum wage, speaking Wednesday (Jan. 29) with wearegreenbay.com’s Heather Sawaski. Assistant Prof. Tonmoy Islam, Urban and Regional Studies (Economics), told Sawaski that there are both winners and losers when the minimum wage goes up. The increase would be good for some workers, but businesses might have to cut staff, Islam said. “You want to pass it on to the consumers, of course, but sometimes that’s not possible,” he said. “And so if that’s not possible, then a business owner has to lay off some workers — because what can you do? So it all depends on the situation that the businesses are in and how much they’re earning — what kind of profits they’re earning.” Full story.