Sure there is. The questions have a built-in bias. Respondents can say jobs increased due to a higher minimum wage but are offered no choices that indicate jobs were cut. The results from such a poll would be meaningless.

Would any credible research organization put such a poll into the field and trumpet their findings? No.

But Lincoln Institute of Public Policy Opinon Research Inc. recently did. Except that their poll is written to ensure that respondents say the minimum wage increase cost jobs.

Here is the question they put into the field:

25. As a result of the recent increase in the minimum wage in Pennsylvania, have you had to take any specific cost cutting action(s) such as: (Check all that are applicable)

1 Lay-Off Employees
2 Cut Hours Of Operation
3 Cancel Or Postpone Expansion Plans
4 Not Hire New Employees
5 Not Hire Teens Or Inexperienced Workers
6 No Answer/Refused
7 Other (See Below)

Surprise, surprise, this survey reached the only conclusion that the it possibly could, given the question.

"The hike in the minimum wage, intended to help lower paid workers, is actually having the effect of reducing job opportunities for unskilled labor. Twenty-seven percent of the businesses surveyed by the Lincoln Institute said they have decided not to hire teen or inexperienced workers as a result of the minimum wage increase. Another 26% said they are now not hiring new employees. Twelve percent of the respondents said they have cancelled or postponed expansion plans due to the inability to afford the new government mandated wage, 6% said they have cut their hours of operation, and another 2% have had to actually lay off employees due to the minimum wage hike."

A closer look reveals that 37% of the respondents refused to answer the question--far more than the 12.5% on average that refused to answer the rest of the questions. One business owner wrote:

"No actions required. Not a fair question without having this as an option"

This is not the first time a right-wing think tank has generated bogus poll results. In the most famous example, a restaurant industry lobbyist's in-house think-tank sent a mail survey to fast food employers. The cover letter explained that the goal of the data collection was to undermine an earlier study by two Princeton economists that found no impact of a New Jersey minimum wage hike on employment. http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_viewpoints_slayers.
When the Princeton researchers redid their study using official government data, they reconfirmed that the New Jersey minimum wage increase had no effect on total employment in that state.

Nonetheless, 15 years later, the bogus results from this survey are still trotted out regularly, not only by right-wing think tanks but by the Wall Street Journal.

For lay people and busy journalists, once the results of a poll start getting cited, it becomes harder to track down where they came from and they begin to get presented as objective fact.

We understand that reality. But we hope that anyone who reads this blog will remember two things for the future.

Any time you see the name Lincoln Institute, you will think

weren't those the folks that did that transparently bogus minimum wage poll?

Any time you see research claiming that a higher minimum leads to job loss, you will, as they say, consider the source.

If you want our help evaluating the credibility of the source, just send a comment to this blog or call 717-255-7181.