Wolf Continues Push For PA Minimum Wage Hike

HARRISBURG, PA —After making a hike in the state minimum wage a key component of his 2021-22 state budget proposal, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf continues to push the idea of raising the minimum from $7.25 per hour to $12 per hour on July 1. Wolf then wants annual increases until the wage reaches $15 per hour in 2027.

Wolf contends that taking steps toward $15 would raise the incomes of more than 1.1 million workers in the state, allow thousands of people to get off of public assistance and bolster the economy.

“Too many essential workers are earning poverty wages while putting themselves at risk to
keep our society running," Wolf said at a recent news conference promoting the plan.

"They keep food on shelves, move crucial supplies, take care of our children, and support people with disabilities. And thousands of them earn poverty wages. These hardworking people deserve better. They deserve a living wage.”

Wolf's $38.7 billion spending plan also recommended raising the state's personal income tax from 3.07 percent to 4.49 percent. But he asserted that taxes actually would decrease or stay the same for about two-thirds of state residents and the increase would impact only the highest wage earners.

Under Wolf's proposal, 2.8 million Pennsylvanians would get a personal income tax cut, saving an average of $536 a year. This includes 412,000 seniors who will save an average of $529 in taxes and more than 767,000 people who will pay nothing, according to figures provided by the state.

Republican lawmakers, who own majorities in the state House and Senate and must approve the budget, called the tax shift aspect of it "dead on arrival."

The minimum wage component might not be if what happened in Florida in November is any indication. Florida has a Republican governor and legislature and former President Donald Trump won the state, but more than 60 percent of voters voted to approve a ballot question to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 by 2026.

Wolf noted that eight states - including Maryland, New Jersey and New York, are on a $15 per path. He also referenced a Pew Research Center survey indicating that two-thirds of Americans back the $15 minimum.

Currently, Pennsylvania's minimum wage, which Wolf has called "embarrassing," is the lowest minimum permitted under federal law. A full-time year-round minimum wage earner makes $15,080 annually, less than the federal poverty threshold for a family of two.

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