Advertisement

Professing Knowledge of the Minimum Wage Issue

In its March 4th web memo on the minimum wage issue, arch conservative research organization The Heritage Foundation makes the same old tired arguments against the minimum wage: “Raising the minimum wage will hurt low-income workers, cost jobs, and hobble the American economy.” Setting aside that Heritage presents these claims as facts, even though they are seriously disputed, what stands out is that Heritage suddenly calls upon the usually disdained liberal elites to descend from their ivy towers and bless us with their intelligence, namely, “Bring in the expert economists from MIT and Chicago and Harvard who will force Sen. Kennedy to hear that his policies are hurting the poor.” Here are just some of the institutions’ professors who may not rise to the call from Heritage; they all support a minimum wage increase. Oh, and for good measure, we threw in some professors who not only represent those revered universities but are also past Nobel Prize winners and former presidents of the American Economic Association.

Alice Amsden Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyFrancis M. Bator Harvard UniversityLawrence F. Katz Harvard UniversityFrank Levy Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPaul A. Samuelson Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyRobert M. Solow Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDavid C. Cole Harvard Institute for International DevelopmentPeter Diamond Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPaul Osterman Massachusetts Institute of TechnologySaskia Sassen University of Chicago Law SchoolMichael J. Piore Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyKaren R. Polenske Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyRashi Fein Harvard Medical SchoolRonald F. Ferguson Harvard UniversityRobert Z. Lawrence Harvard UniversityStephen A. Marglin Harvard UniversityRichard J. Murnane Harvard UniversityRichard A. Musgrave Harvard UniversityDani Rodrik Harvard UniversityF. M. Scherer Harvard UniversityBruce R. Scott Harvard Business School

Advertisement