Raising Minimum Wage Will Lift Over 155,000 Across State Off SNAP Assistance / Senator Casey Calls for Passage of Minimum Wage Hike that Would Create Jobs, Help Small Businesses
Washington, DC- With a bill currently on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) highlighted new county by county data showing the benefits of a minimum wage increase in Pennsylvania. By raising the minimum wage to $10.10, the Minimum Wage Fairness Act would strengthen the economy and help to make sure that hard work is rewarded. New county by county data shows that raising the minimum wage will aid the economy and help lift families across the state make a decent wage.
“Raising the minimum wage is about basic fairness and economic security for Pennsylvania’s workers and families,” Senator Casey said. “I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill, which will increase Pennsylvania’s GDP by over $1 billion and add thousands of jobs. It will have positive economic impacts for the entire state, not just those working for the minimum wage.”
By increasing working family incomes, raising the wage would reduce reliance on one of our nation’s critical safety net programs, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – commonly referred to as food stamps. A boost to the minimum wage will cause annual SNAP spending to fall nationwide by nearly $4.6 billion and at least 3.1 million people to be removed from the SNAP rolls. In Pennsylvania, this means 1,074,000 total workers would get a raise bringing $1.61 billion more in wages into the state. Because of this increase in earnings, SNAP enrollment would drop by roughly 156,000 recipients and SNAP spending in Pennsylvania would decline by $207.5 million.
[Total may not add due to rounding. DPCC Calculations based on USDA, 2/18/14; CAP, 3/5/14]
