The retail giant Target won praise from liberals in 2017 when it announced plans to gradually increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour.
But CNN Business reports many Target employees who were supposed to benefit from the minimum wage increase have actually suffered because of the consequent reduced hours and increased automation.
Washington Examiner columnist Brad Polumbo points out that’s exactly what conservative critics of the #Fightfor15, based on basic economic theory, have predicted.
CNN Business interviewed dozens of Target employees who “say hours have been scaled back even as Target has increased starting wages.”
“Many of these workers say the cuts, which come as Target’s business is in its strongest position in more than a decade, have hurt them financially,” CNN said.
Heather, a Target employee who spoke to CNN, said she was reduced from full-time to 20 hours a week.
“I got that dollar raise but I’m getting $200 less in my paycheck,” she said.
“I have no idea how I’m going to pay rent or buy food.”
Other employees said they had been able to work 30 or more hours weekly, which qualified them for Target’s health insurance benefits.
But with reduced hours, they’ve now lost not only wages but health insurance.
A former store manager noted many employees lost hours with the introduction of self-checkout.
Polumbo noted that study after study has documented the unintended consequences of artificially high minimum wages.
“With the latest example of Target added to the mix, the evidence against the big-government policy is overwhelming,” he wrote. “The lesson here is pretty clear. Sometimes, the best thing the government can do to help workers is nothing at all.”
