Analysis: Oklahoma voters, face a choice on June 16th that goes far beyond a simple wage increase. State Question 832 promises a “modest” path to $15 per hour by 2029, then locks in automatic yearly rises forever, tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. This index reflects the inflated costs of New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, not Oklahoma reality.
On the surface it sounds compassionate. But look closer, and we see it moves us away from personal responsibility and voluntary agreements. Plus, it ignores two deeper truths and will only make our economic reality worse, not better.
First, the rise of artificial intelligence and automation is already transforming entry-level work, the very jobs SQ 832 now targets by stripping exemptions for high school students, part-timers, and farm workers. When government requires ever-higher labor costs, businesses accelerate the shift to machines. We saw it in California after the fast-food wage jump: thousands of jobs vanished in months. Here in Oklahoma, forcing wages to $12 in 2027, $15 in 2029, and higher indefinitely will speed up that displacement. The result? Fewer opportunities for young people to gain experience and more structural unemployment.
Second, and far more fundamental, SQ 832 treats a symptom while the real problem remains. Why do wages never seem to keep pace with the cost of living? Because our fiat dollar is losing value every single year. In 1963 the federal minimum wage was $1.25, an honest wage paid in real silver coin. Five pre-1965 silver quarters contained about 0.90 troy ounces of pure silver. At today’s silver prices, the melt value of that same honest money would be worth roughly $60–$65 per hour in purchasing power. Simple CPI adjustment turns that $1.25 into only about $13–$14 in today’s dollars. The gap shows we abandoned sound, constitutional money for a system built on easy money, inflation, and debt. A system that benefits those closest to the money printer while quietly stealing purchasing power from everyday Oklahomans.
Raising the minimum wage and indexing it permanently to big-city CPI is just a Band-Aid on a wound infected with flesh-eating bacteria. It pretends the problem is solved instead of addressing the root cause, which is a broken monetary system that steals purchasing power from every working Oklahoman. SQ 832 adds to that distortion, driving up prices and pushing small employers and city budgets into difficult choices.
Oklahoma’s cost of living remains 11 percent below the national average. Our economy is growing through market forces, not mandates. We do not need a perpetual escalator that ignores local realities and eliminates entry-level jobs. We need wages set by productivity and local conditions, and above all, a return to constitutional sound money.
This is not about being unkind to workers. It is about refusing to use government mandates to treat symptoms while the deeper issue goes unaddressed.
Oklahomans, let the free-market work and urge our leaders to restore honest and sound money. Let’s protect the dignity of work and the liberty our Founders fought to secure.
Vote No on SQ 832.
About the author: The Money Block™ With Matthew J. Moore broadcasts on BizTV Network in 82 markets and counting. A 121.4 Million National Reach host broadcasting from Tulsa. Moore has also written a book, “Foundations For Liberty”: Click Here! and connects on social media offering the following ways to stay connected: FOLLOW ON X, FOLLOW ON YOUTUBE, FOLLOW ON LINKEDIN, FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK, FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM. Tune in every Saturday at 3pm ET for Matthew’s Bitcoin focused conversations.
