Barton: SQ 832 has Big City costs for Small Town budgets

SQ 832: Big City Costs, Small Town Budgets

by Brian Barton, Oilton City Council, Ward 4

What works in New York and Los Angeles does not always work in Oilton, Drumright, or Mannford, Oklahoma. But what does it mean for small towns across our state?

There will be a lot of discussion about State Question 832 and raising the minimum wage. The idea behind it is simple. People want hardworking Oklahomans to earn a better living. That is a goal most of us share. But the real question is how statewide policies affect small town budgets and the services our communities depend on every day.

One part of the proposal ties future wage increases to a national urban inflation index. In simple terms, that means wages would continue rising automatically every year.

Small towns run on local dollars. Our budgets come from local sales taxes, utility payments, and the limited revenue streams that keep a community running.

This is not unique to Oilton. The same reality applies to small towns across Oklahoma. Whether it is a town of 500 or 5,000, the math does not change. Limited revenue, essential services, and tight budgets are the norm, not the exception.

A modest raise sounds good to everyone at first. But it does not stop at $15 or even $20 an hour. The increases continue every year forever, and over time they can quickly become unsustainable for small businesses and small town budgets.

Small: Where do businesses get their money?

Where do businesses get their money?

By Jonathan Small

Under State Question 832, the minimum wage in Oklahoma will more than double from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour by 2029 and then continue rising at a rapid pace every year based on the cost of living in the nation’s largest urban centers.

Even supporters of SQ 832 concede it will increase Oklahoma employers’ labor costs by $783 million annually. They tout this as a good thing, but ignore a fundamental question: Where do businesses get their money? The answer: from their customers.

Ultimately, every dollar an employer receives comes from a customer. Money doesn’t grow on trees, as your dad probably told you. This economic reality escapes the supporters of SQ 832.

Small: SQ 832 means higher prices

SQ 832 means higher prices

By Jonathan Small

Supporters of State Question 832, which would impose a California-style wage law in Oklahoma that continually increases the state minimum wage based on the cost of living in places like New York City, portray it as a magic elixir that will boost economic growth and wages for all.

In reality, SQ 832 will boost prices for all while reducing job opportunities for many.

State Question 832 would impose a $15 an hour minimum wage and require rapid escalation every year thereafter, putting the wage mandate on a fast track to $35 and higher in future years.

Obviously, as wages rise, some businesses will reduce job creation, cut worker hours, or resort to automation.

But the ripple effects of SQ 832 mean those entry-level workers, and all Oklahomans, will also pay higher prices.

SQ 832: a competition-crushing, AI-adopting dream for Big Business

SQ 832: A Competition-Crushing, AI-Adopting Dream for Big Business

State Question 832, the ballot measure that would dramatically raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage, is a gift to Big Business, Big Tech, and the accelerating AI revolution. Oklahomans will vote on June 16th to decide the fate of our state's economic future. SQ 832 is bad news, and let me take a few moments to warn you about it.

We stand at the threshold of tremendous technological transformation, one that risks the “de-humanization” of common work. AI, algorithms, and robotics are increasingly being used, in all industries, to handle routine tasks. I'm watching it grow in the cleaning and restoration industry; I'm sure it's in your field as well.

If you pay any attention at all to what the Big Tech gurus are saying at global conferences and shindigs, they are eager to remove humans from the labor equation wherever possible. Other actors are seeking to use this to pursue a socialist Universal Basic Income, whereby everyone is on the government dole and thus more easily controlled, particularly as tech-driven surveillance becomes more mainstream (see State Rep. Tom Gann's long-running fight against the implementation of Flock cameras and similar technology across the state).

SQ 832 does not fight this trend; it subsidizes it. Rather than lifting employees up the ladder, it would saw it off above their reach.

Small: Minimum-wage reality

Minimum-wage reality

By Jonathan Small

On paper, Oklahoma’s minimum wage has been $7.25 since 2009. In reality, the starting wage for most entry-level jobs today is much higher with wages of $11 to $14 an hour common.

That fact undermines the entire narrative of those claiming government needs to set wages. They argue that employers won’t pay a penny more than legally required. But this is false. Employee pay is not the product of government edict, but of market reality. Employers must pay wages that attract workers. That’s why today’s entry-level wages in Oklahoma are much higher than the official minimum.

Small: If you hate the poor, raise the minimum wage

If you hate the poor, raise the minimum wage

By Jonathan Small

The gap between intentions and outcomes can be vast in politics, as the push to raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage demonstrates.

Proponents say they want to help struggling citizens at the bottom of the state’s economic ladder. But in practice, their wage-policy preference yanks that ladder out of the hands of those low-income workers, leaving them not only poor but also with far less opportunity for future advancement.

Why? Because the market still sets worker rates even when government planners pretend otherwise. If a minimum wage exceeds market value, it forces employers to simply reduce hiring, shift to automation, or move jobs to more business-friendly climates.

If you doubt it, look at California.

Small: Court ruling creates more chaos, uncertainty

Court ruling creates more chaos, uncertainty

By Jonathan Small

Can Oklahoma’s economy continue to grow and its people thrive if businesses lack certainty in our legal system? Unfortunately, we may find out.

Members of the Oklahoma Supreme Court recently issued a ruling that contradicted one of the court’s prior rulings, but refused to provide a written opinion explaining if they are overturning their prior decision or see some fundamental difference between the two cases.