On the campaign trail, New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani pledged to increase the city’s minimum hourly wage, from $16.50 to $30, by 2030. The increase would be phased in, with automatic annual hikes after 2031 tied to inflation or business productivity, whichever is higher.
The idea appealed to many, especially young voters eager for a pay bump. The mayor-elect’s supporters claim that the move will give workers a “living wage.” But the proposal, if enacted, would make the city more costly for everyone—hurting young and low-income workers the most.
Start with some math. Thirty dollars is not just higher than New York’s existing minimum wage—it’s higher than the city’s median wage, which was $27.45 as of 2023, down slightly from 2021 in inflation-adjusted terms…