On Nov. 5, Alaskans will vote whether to raise prices on goods and services across the state while discouraging investment and hastening job loss. Ballot Measure 1, “An Act Increasing the Minimum Wage, Requiring Paid Sick Leave, and Prohibiting Mandatory Meetings About Religious or Political Issues” is an outsider-funded referendum carrying significant hidden costs undermining the measure’s purported goals.

Ballot Measure 1’s first goal seeks to increase Alaska’s minimum wage to $15 by 2027. Alaska’s minimum wage is already a generous $11.73 with annual increases for inflation baked into the statute. Few Alaskans depend on the minimum wage (which is generally for unskilled, entry-level workers and high school students). Businesses will likely hire fewer entry-level workers and promote automation. Moreover, as Alaska’s minimum wage rises, the threshold salary level for exempt employees also rises. If Ballot Measure 1 passes, that threshold would be $62,400 by 2027 (it is currently $48,800). Wage increases do not happen in a vacuum. As labor costs jump up, so do prices. The minimum wage increase cures a non-existent problem by making Alaska less affordable for everyone including Ballot Measure 1’s intended beneficiaries.

*Gregory Fisher (admitted in Alaska and Arizona), Douglas Smith (admitted in Washington), Corey Dunn (admitted in Indiana and Kentucky), and Adam Gottschalk (admitted in Alaska and Washington) are attorneys in private practice. The views expressed here are the authors’ alone and should not be attributed to their firm.