Economist says tip credit won't change much in Minnesota

Murray's Restaurant
Executive chef John VanHouse (left) prepares food at Murray's Restaurant in Minneapolis on Tuesday, June 15, 2010.
MPR Photo/Annie Baxter

The candidates for governor in Minnesota are divided over whether workers who earn tips should be subject to a lower minimum wage. Republican Tom Emmer argues those tips count as income and should relieve employers of part of the minimum wage requirement.

Independence Party candidate Tom Horner also supports the so-called "tip credit." But all three leading DFL candidates -- Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza -- oppose it. They want to keep Minnesota's minimum wage law the way it is.

It's an issue that's been debated for years at the state capitol. St. Cloud State economist Orn Bodvarsson has done extensive research on both tipping and the minimum wage, and he joined Cathy Wurzer this morning from our studios in Collegeville to discuss the policy debate.

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