Gabe Provides Analysis of City Councilor’s Minimum Wage Hike Proposal, BDN Reports
Todd Gabe, an economics professor at the University of Maine, was a panelist at a recent Bangor meeting where City Councilor Joe Baldacci presented his proposal for raising the minimum wage, the Bangor Daily News reported. Baldacci said a local ordinance would benefit the city and put pressure on state government to enact a statewide increase, according to the article. At the meeting, Gabe provided analysis of Baldacci’s proposal. He found if the wage were increased from $7.50 to $8.25, 7 percent of the 67,720 workers in the Bangor metropolitan area would be affected. At $9 per hour, 12 percent would be affected, and at $9.75 per hour, 18 percent would be affected. Gabe also said national national economic studies are mixed and show that raising the minimum wage results in higher wages for some and reduced hours and job losses for others, depending on the study and field of work, the report states.