The Cry Wolf Quote Bank chronicles the false predictions and hyperbole by opponents of these laws and protections. While the issues and specific policies change over time, the rhetoric and themes remained the same. You can search the Quote Bank for what opponents said to prevent these laws from passing. Using the drop down menus on the right their statements by issue, by specific law, by who said it and by the core themes they evoke. Elsewhere on the site, you can find articles, studies, and other material that debunks their claims.
[The RGGI states] are going to be shooting themselves in the foot economically and driving even more of their manufacturing base overseas.
Most troubling, though, is the fact that the least skilled employees are those who are being most hurt by this ordinance. Voters in other areas considering an increase in the minimum wage must consider these unintended consequences that end up hurting those who the law is supposed to help.
In 1991, dentists across America discovered that OSHA had ‘outlawed the tooth fairy.’ In a fit of regulatory zeal to combat the spread of AIDS and other communicable diseases through blood-borne pathogens, the rule-writers at OSHA had determined to make it a violation to allow any item that had been in contact with bodily fluids to leave a medical facility except in a biohazards container.
Any way you slice it, increasing the minimum wage in Michigan… is likely to make it more difficult for the working poor to find jobs. …those who most need the work will have a harder time finding it.
[RGGI is] regulation without representation.
Greens have red underbellies. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, communists needed to find a new vocation, so they embraced environmental issues.
[Companies covered by RGGI] will be placed at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis their non-RGGI competitors (domestic as well as international).
When the cost of employment goes up, you lose your job. If you don't have a job, family leave insurance doesn't help you.
Living wage proposals are economically unfair because they change the basis on which our economy operates. Instead of allowing the market forces to determine pay, living wages put the interests of employees above all other consideration…and they base wages on what the worker wants instead of on the value of work performed.
Wage mandates ignore the principals of free market economies; they prevent businesses from making profits, growing and hiring more workers; and they base wages on what the worker wants instead of on the value of work performed.
