Articles
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Economy
Inflation-indexed minimum wages: Washington’s cautionary tale
Over the past 25 years, Washington state raised its minimum wage by 150 percent and, in 2021, locked in automatic annual hikes—just like those proposed under Oklahoma’s State Question 832. The results have been predictable.Curtis Shelton | November 24, 2025
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Economy
Market wages are already rising; SQ 832 would cause real harm
Although Oklahoma’s statutory minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009, the true starting wage in the real labor market is already higher. After all, employers must pay what attracts workers—not what a law dictates. State Question 832 would force wages to skyrocket far beyond what local businesses can sustain.Jonathan Small | November 24, 2025
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Economy
Oregon’s inflation-tied minimum wage offers Oklahoma a warning
Oklahoma voters weighing a minimum wage hike tied to the cost of living should take a close look at Oregon, where a similar policy is in effect. Since 2000, Oregon’s minimum wage has climbed from $6.50 to $15.95, while the labor-force participation has dropped.Curtis Shelton | November 5, 2025
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Economy, Culture & the Family
SQ 832: A recipe for greater inequality and generational hopelessness
Oklahoma's State Question 832, which would mandate automatic minimum-wage increases by linking Oklahoma to a national index, is touted as a tool to reduce income inequality and support families. In reality, it would do the opposite.Byron Schlomach, Ph.D. | October 30, 2025
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Economy
Experts: ‘Living wage’ means fewer jobs, less money for workers
At a recent legislative study, experts told Oklahoma state lawmakers that linking the state’s minimum wage to the cost of living in expensive cities like New York or San Francisco—a proposal known as State Question 832—would harm small businesses, shrink job opportunities, and ultimately reduce workers’ take-home pay.Ray Carter | October 24, 2025
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Economy
Data show $15 minimum wage tied to restaurant job losses
A proposed $15 minimum wage under State Question 832 would backfire on the very workers it claims to help. The Employment Policies Institute estimates the measure would eliminate more than 12,000 restaurant jobs in Oklahoma.Curtis Shelton | October 21, 2025
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Economy
To infinity and beyond: SQ 832’s minimum-wage plan is a flight of fantasy
If State Question 832 is approved, Oklahoma could one day have the nation’s highest minimum wage. It may feel bold and heroic, but it defies economic gravity and would send jobs, young workers, and small businesses crashing back to earth.Curtis Shelton | October 8, 2025
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Economy
The slow-motion disaster of raising Oklahoma’s minimum wage
State Question 832, if approved, will gradually raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage—but its slow rollout masks the economic damage it will cause.Byron Schlomach, Ph.D. | October 7, 2025
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Law & Principles, Economy
Minimum-wage hike hits Gen Z hardest
Thanks in part to steep minimum-wage hikes, youth employment in California has collapsed.Curtis Shelton | October 3, 2025
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Agriculture, Economy
Critics say proposed minimum-wage hike would export California’s problems to Oklahoma
A new Oklahoma ballot proposal, State Question 832, would dramatically raise the state’s minimum wage by tying it to the cost of living in expensive urban areas like San Francisco and New York City.Ray Carter | July 23, 2025