So Washington state’s minimum wage is increasing by a few pennies to keep up with cost of living according to the Consumer Price Index.
After reading the Dec. 30 story in The Columbian — “Pay hike a boon for workers and a burden for employers” — it’s hard for me to empathize with the business owners quoted who own restaurant “chains,” multiple locations of McDonald’s and KFC franchises, crying about the cost of food and wage increases.
Their employees also experience increased costs when they shop for food.
Perhaps these business owners might consider taking a tiny decrease in profits. Somehow, I think they would still survive.
I would also be interested in knowing how many of the hundreds of fast food employees mentioned in the story are getting full-time hours and receiving employer-paid benefits. Not many, I’ll bet.
