The governor's support for a $15 minimum wage stateside is a departure from his stance earlier this year. As the Wall Street Journal reports, when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed raising New York City's minimum wage to more than $13 per hour, "Cuomo's administration said the state legislature, which must approve any city's move to raise its minimum wage, would regard that as a 'nonstarter.'" Cuomo instead pushed for a $11.50 minimum wage for New York City and a $10.50 floor for the rest of the state in his 2015 budget proposal.
Policy experts say that as long as the phase-in process is conducted carefully, then the wage should be a boon for workers.
"A $15 minimum wage is indeed reasonable and necessary," Robbie Hiltonsmith, senior policy analyst at the think tank Demos, told Mic in an email. "Once implemented, it will be beneficial to both employment and [gross domestic product] growth, as the additional buying power it will give low-wage workers will enable them to increase both consumption and savings, which will help fuel growth."
