Like many decisions, this is one that can best be made by businesses in Alaska, not bureaucrats in Washington. To pay workers more when they are not necessarily providing more value to the company is to cheat the employer, and, ultimately, her employees as well.
Businesses can only provide jobs if they stay in business and make a profit.
Indexing wages means expanding personnel costs every year, with no corresponding mechanism to see wages drop during deflation. My bill does not satisfy the governor's desire to see minimum wages automatically rise with inflation, a well-intentioned but misguided idea. But while such a plan would benefit some workers, it would not be fair to other employees. There is no real justification for awarding automatic raises to the lowest-paid workers, and neglecting those who make even slightly more. It must be pointed out that only a very small percentage of Alaskans actually earn the minimum wage, or remain at minimum wage jobs for much of their working life.