Debates about the initiative to raise Alaska’s minimum wage have begun, with one economics professor saying it is not as good as it sounds.
University of Alaska Fairbanks professor Sherri Wall debated with initiative sponsor Ed Flanagan in Fairbanks this week, calling the rise of minimum wage “an infringement upon liberty.”
Flanagan countered by saying that an educated approach fails to recognize the reality that usually low-income or entry-level workers do not have imput into what they are paid.
That ballot initiative aims to raise the minimum wage of $7.75 an hour by $2 an hour over two years and adjust it for inflation after that, if passed.