How tax cuts translate to pay rises for all

As I have written in the past, President Trump’s tax cuts were not a stimulus program. Tax cuts are only permanent until someone comes along to muck them up.

So last week — about a year and a half since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — Bank of America raised its minimum wage to $17, effective as of May 1, 2019, so this week’s paychecks are going to be a little fatter for all those bank employees at minimum-wage level.

And the bank said it will continue to raise the wage — to $20 by 2021. Workers can thank the corporate tax cuts in particular.

Minimum wage is a hard thing to debate. While I always want everyone to make more, the reality is that some businesses can afford to pay more than others.

Small businesses are generally more likely to reduce hiring or even lay people off when the minimum wage rises too fast.

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