Missouri Enters the $15 Era
Missouri’s $15 Minimum Wage Is Here. Here’s What Liberals Won’t Tell You.
As of today, January 1, 2026, Missouri’s minimum wage officially hits $15 an hour.
Liberals are celebrating. They’re promising higher pay, economic relief, and a win for working families.
Everyone wants people to earn more. That part is easy.
What’s harder is telling the truth about what happens after the press releases end.
When the government mandates wages instead of letting the markets work, there are consequences. And those consequences hit hardest for the people at the bottom.
Let’s Start With the Basics
Labor is a market.
Employers buy labor.
Workers sell labor.
When government forces wages above what the market can support, two things happen at the same time.
More people want those jobs.
Fewer employers can afford to hire them.
That gap is called a surplus. In the labor market, a surplus means fewer jobs or fewer hours.
This is basic economics.
Ignore it, and workers pay the price.
Job Loss Isn’t a Scare Tactic. It’s Real.
Supporters of higher minimum wages love to say job losses are “theoretical.” They aren’t.
Minimum wage hikes put real jobs at risk.
The debate isn’t about whether jobs disappear. It’s about whether politicians think those losses are acceptable.
That’s a luxury opinion if you’re not the one losing hours or missing out on a job entirely.
Who Gets Hit First in Missouri
The pain doesn’t fall evenly.
Teenagers, entry-level workers, people without college degrees, and first-time job seekers are consistently the first to feel the impact of higher labor costs.
Research shows that employers respond to minimum wage hikes in predictable ways. They hire fewer people. They cut hours. They automate. They raise experience requirements for jobs that used to be a first step.
In Missouri, that means fewer chances for the people Liberals claim will benefit.
Higher Wages on Paper. Fewer Chances in Real Life.
When the government raises the cost of taking a chance on someone, employers stop taking chances.
Minimum wage hikes price workers out before they ever get started, delaying workforce entry and reducing lifetime earnings.
A higher minimum wage doesn’t help if you can’t get a job.
And Yes, Prices Go Up Too.
Businesses don’t absorb higher costs out of thin air. They pass them on. Higher food prices. Higher childcare costs. Higher prices for everyday services.
Those increases hit working families hardest. The same people this policy is supposed to help end up paying more just to get by.
It’s not compassion. It’s a shell game.
Missouri Has Better Choices
While the Left spins its wheels on the never-ending carousel of minimum wage hikes, inflation, and increased public benefits, Missouri can take a lesson from the states that are winning the population battle.
There is a way to raise take-home pay without pricing people out of work: eliminating the income tax.
Unlike minimum wage mandates, cutting the income tax doesn’t raise the cost of hiring a single worker. It doesn’t force employers to cut hours. It doesn’t shut the door on entry-level jobs. It simply lets people keep more of what they earn.
That matters.
When workers keep more of their paycheck, they don’t need politicians to decide which jobs are “worth” saving. Families can afford groceries, rent, and childcare without forcing small businesses to absorb artificial labor costs. Employers can grow, expand, and hire instead of cutting back.
That’s why states with no income tax are winning the population battle. Workers are voting with their feet. Businesses are following opportunity. Growth is happening where government gets out of the way.
Minimum wage hikes try to force prosperity from the top down. Income tax elimination lets prosperity grow from the bottom up.
Growth creates opportunity. Mandates shrink it.
The Bottom Line
Missouri is now in the $15 minimum wage era. The headlines are done. Reality is just getting started.
You can’t repeal supply and demand. When labor is priced above its value, jobs disappear, hours shrink, and opportunities dry up.
Pricing people out of work isn’t compassionate. It’s careless.
Missouri workers deserve policies that create opportunity, not promises that ignore the cost.
The time is now to eliminate the state’s individual income tax.
Andy Bakker
Executive Director
Liberty Alliance USA