Study: Raising Minimum Wage Could Lead to More Crime

Raising the minimum wage could lead to additional property crimes and hit taxpayers with $2.4 billion in associated costs, a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research says.

The study’s findings were detailed in a report by The Washington Free Beacon on Friday.

The release of the study came as the House Education and Labor Committee advanced the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, which would hike the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour over several years, the Beacon noted.

The study’s findings are counter to a 2016 report by the Council of Economic Advisers. That report had claimed raising the minimum wage to $12 an hour could prevent about 500,000 crimes each year.

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