Obama Economic Adviser: Minimum Wage Hike ‘Has No Fiscal Cost’

FURMAN: “Well, minimum wage has no fiscal cost. And what we've seen historically is that it raises the wage for workers and it has no meaningful impact on employment because it also helps you retain better workers, better motivate your workers, and has overall been a win-win for the economy. And it certainly is something the president is going to continue pushing for.”
MITCHELL: “What about the argument, though, there is a counter argument by some that it would increase unemployment. Would you consider a two tiered minimum wage so that you set aside those, perhaps the younger people, the teens, for a lower minimum wage than the $10.10 an hour that seems to have bipartisan support?” FURMAN: “Andrea, we want to build on the way the current rules work and they are based on a range of economic studies which have taken a look at say one state that raises its minimum wage, the neighboring state doesn't. And when you look at that, you discover it doesn't cost jobs in the state that raises minimum wage. What it does do is raise wages for families and make a real difference to them and a real difference in an economy that's been burdened by inequality for far too long.”