Nebraskans have approved a ballot measure that would gradually increase the state’s minimum wage to $15, making it the latest red state to adopt the policy position long championed by those on the Left.
Initiative 433 will incrementally increase the minimum wage in the Cornhusker State from its current $9-per-hour level to $15 over the next four years. The proposal mirrored those of others supporting such an increase, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who has unsuccessfully tried to increase the federal minimum wage to that level.
The ballot initiative increases the hourly minimum wage as follows:
- $10.50 on Jan. 1, 2023
- $12.00 on Jan. 1, 2024
- $13.50 on Jan. 1, 2025
- $15.00 on Jan. 1, 2026
While a policy supported by Sanders might have seemed doomed to fail in ruby-red Nebraska, ballot measures to raise state minimum wages have historically performed very well, even in Republican states. Just two of the last 25 ballot measures to raise state minimum wages have failed, with the last time being in 1996.
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Proponents of Initiative 433 argued that raising the state’s minimum wage by $6 per hour is a fair move and that it could pad consumers’ pockets and increase economic activity in the state.
“Raising the minimum wage will enable workers to spend more at local businesses across Nebraska,” said Denise Bowyer of Nebraska Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, according to KETV.
Opponents of the ballot measure said that it would hurt small businesses by decreasing their ability to compete with large corporations and would end up hurting the state’s economy in the long run.
“Supporters of a $15 minimum are doing the bidding of corporate America,” said Katie Bohlmeyer, policy and research coordinator for the Lincoln Independent Business Association. “It is why Walmart pushes for an increase in the minimum wage. It destroys their competition.”
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The last time voters approved a minimum wage increase in Nebraska was during the 2014 midterm elections, which increased hourly pay to $9 by 2016. That measure passed with about 60% of voters agreeing to the hike.
