Pennsylvania Lawmakers Aim to Dig Into Implications of Minimum Wage Hike Proposal

Gov. Tom Wolf’s continued call to increase Pennsylvania’s minimum wage was scrutinized at a recent budget hearing with the head of the state’s Independent Fiscal Office.

Wolf’s proposal includes an instantaneous increase in the minimum wage, from the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour in July to $12 per hour. Thereafter, Wolf is proposing 50-cent hourly increases in the minimum wage each year before reaching a $15-per-hour threshold in 2027.

But the would-be hike comes alongside a number of other weighty issues on the jobs front, including indications unemployment will be a challenge for years...