The state House has passed an increase to the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, sending the proposal to the state Senate, the Associated Press reported in Thursday’s edition of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

The measure incrementally increases the minimum wage to $15 over three years and sets up automatic increases to reflect inflation after that.

While we think the measure to tie automatic increases to inflation has potential, we fear an increase to $15 over three years is too steep, too quickly.

As The Center Square reported, an assessment by the Independent Fiscal Office predicts even a $12-an-hour minimum wage would lead to 5,000 jobs being cut across the state.

We also have concerns that the Democratic majority in the state House is addressing problems that hinder our economy in an unfortunately backwards fashion. Inflation is a serious problem for working-class and middle-class families. The rising costs of housing, energy, health care, groceries and education present real challenges.

But with increased wages comes a real risk of employers passing on the expenses to consumers through higher price tags. Which in turn enables the pressure to increase wages further. We can hope that chaining future automatic increases to inflation stymies the impact somewhat, but the threat of an inflationary spiral will persist.

We hope that the Senate can determine a more reasonable, gradual rate if it chooses to increase the minimum wage. Moreover, we hope the state Legislature — and U.S. Congress, Biden Administration and local and county governments across the nation — are able to find ways of addressing the root causes of out-of-control increases in housing costs, energy costs and other expenses that have made nearly doubling the minimum wage look like such an appealing option to some.

— Williamsport Sun-Gazette