Activist group One Fair Wage is pushing a 2026 ballot effort in Maryland to get a $25 minimum wage, which would be much higher than any other state in the nation – sparking concerns from some economists about the potential impact.
“$25 isn’t radical! It’s survival,” the group posted to X on Friday morning. “One Fair Wage is pushing a 2026 ballot measure to make Maryland the first state with a true living wage for all workers.”
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, but many states and territories go beyond that, with California at $16.50 an hour and Washington, D.C., at $17.95 an hour. If One Fair Wage’s proposal went into effect, a full-time worker could make a minimum of $52,000 a year.
Maryland-based economist Rachel Greszler, Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said that the proposal could create serious issues because of its drastic nature.
The Old Line State’s minimum wage is currently $15 an hour, with Montgomery County having a minimum wage as high as $17.65 for companies over 51 people.
“I think it’s insane. Maryland’s already trying to compete, especially with Virginia nearby, and you were losing businesses, especially the small businesses, which are disproportionately affected by high minimum wages, and to do this is just gonna exacerbate the problems that we’re having with the budget, of course, and of having good jobs for people,” she said, noting that “good intentions don’t necessarily lead to good outcomes.” Virginia’s minimum wage will go $12.77 an hour starting January 1.
“You need these starting wages to be able to step onto the ladder and then be able to climb it. If that first step is $25 an hour or $52,000 a year, a lot of people would just never be able to step onto it,” she said, noting the risk of youth employment decline even further.
Greszler wrote in September for the Economic Policy Innovation Centerthat teen employment has gone down 15.6% since 2000 to only 30%.
Non-partisan business groups have also raised concerns about the suggested increase.
“We understand that many Marylanders are struggling with the cost of living and want better opportunities to get ahead. But Maryland’s economy is already struggling to create and keep jobs, and raising the minimum wage to $25 would make it even harder,” the Maryland Chamber of Commerce told WMAR 2 News Baltimore in November.
If it makes it to the ballot, Greszler is not confident that the measure would pass, despite the hope from activists that it could excite voters, according to WMAR.
“I think it’s such a big jump,” she said. “I could see them going for a smaller one.”
The economist noted that she feels “sympathy” on the issue due to cost-of-living concerns, but added that “there’s no way that that’s gonna be sustainable.”
“Half of people who earn it are under age 24. It’s primarily teenagers. And more than half of the people who are earning the minimum wage are just working part-time,” she noted.
