So a band of economists at the University of Washington has determined that the forced higher minimum wage in Seattle has thus far resulted in “low-wage workers being offered fewer hours, and there are slightly fewer jobs available than could be expected without the wage increase.” (“Study: Raising the minimum wage did little for workers’ earnings in Seattle,” July 30, The Washington Post.)
So far, so good? But wait. This phase of the raise went from an average $9.96 per hour to $11.14, which is an 11.8 percent increase.
Once the wage reaches $15 per hour, that will reflect an increase of 50.6 percent. Imagine the negative impact that will have on those hours being offered and jobs being kept or even created. It will be much more than slight. Proponents of a $15 minimum wage also think there will be no impact on business failure rates.
Once again, these academics, who have no business experience, are confident these government mandates will only “slightly” affect the real world. What small or medium business that relies on low-wage workers can possibly withstand a 50 percent increase in labor costs, plus the associated increases in payroll and other employment taxes? Unfortunately for all of us, once this experiment is fully implemented and lots of hours, jobs and businesses are gone, will they even admit they were wrong? I haven’t seen that happen yet.
