Fox News Seizes On Obama Proposal To Attack Minimum
Wage Increase

post from Media Matters for America - Latest Items on 13 February 2013 12:35:25 PM. © Media Matters for America - Latest Items

Fox News figures responded to President Obama's proposal to increase the minimum wage by resurrecting the myth that such an increase will negatively affect employment. In reality, there is no evidence that raising the minimum wage results in higher unemployment.

In his annual State of the Union address, Obama proposed raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour to stimulate economic growth. The increase would raise incomes for 15 million American workers.

In response, Fox News anchor Bret Baier and guest Nina Easton pushed the myth that raising the minimum wage will have a negative impact on employment.

Anchoring Fox's State of the Union coverage, Baier said that small businesses and Republicans typically push back on minimum wage hikes because they say "it will lead companies to cut back, lay people off, and not expand business."

Easton, an editor for Fortune magazine, said that increasing the minimum wage "at a time when unemployment is still close to 8 percent is a job killer."

In fact, studies show that raising the minimum wage does not result in higher unemployment.