http://www.nber.org/papers/w23532 http://www.nber.org/papers/w23532 At my local grocer in Manhattan, some prices suddenly went up 25% or more on a number of it

http://www.nber.org/papers/w23532 http://www.nber.org/papers/w23532 At my local grocer in Manhattan, some prices suddenly went up 25% or more on a number of items and I was told by a senior manager of the food store chain (I was calling to complain about something else and inquired) who said it was because of the first minimum wage increase for not only the stores but the distributors which are also located in NY State. NY State passed a minimum wage from $11 to $13 to $15 by 2018 or so. The current rate is $11. A lot of people receive food stamps and/or are on a fixed income (think retirees) and this puts a substantial increase in their cost of living. This is only the first hike. One can only imagine how much higher food prices will be when it finally goes up to $15. Meanwhile neither NY State nor NY City has dealt with the real problem which is the high cost of living which is very hard on low-wage people in particular because of zoning density restrictions and overuse of historic landmark status. These zoning density restrictions are a huge windfall for wealthy landlords as they make renters pay far, far higher rates for apartments than they would in an efficient market. It is a huge regressive "tax" that makes landlords like Donald Trump far wealthier than they otherwise would be in a efficient, functioning real estate market.