Seattle will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour over the coming years under a deal brokered by Mayor Ed Murray and blessed by labor and business groups alike, city leaders have announced, reports Think Progress.
Curiously, the new pay floor will phase in at different speeds for businesses of different sizes, which suggests the advocates of this nutty intervention into private exchange, on some level, understand that the government can not by decree force a higher wage without some negative consequences.
On a longer-term basis, by the end of the decade, all employers will have to meet the $15 minimum wage. Businesses with more than 500 employees nationwide will have a three-year phase-in period, while smaller employers get five years to ratchet up their payscales.
After reaching $15 an hour, the city’s minimum wage will automatically climb by 2.4 percent each year regardless of the rate of inflation.
Most bizarre, tips will only be counted toward worker minimum pay for the next five years. After that, the separate minimum hourly pay rates for tipped and non-tipped workers will disappear, and all employees citywide will have to be paid $15 hourly or more.
Naturally though, the extreme loony left wants even more.
An activist coalition called 15 Now led by the lone socialist member of the City Council, Kshama Sawant, has pledged to put an immediate wage hike before city voters in November if the deal falls short of the group’s goals. Sawant’s ballot initiative would let employers with fewer than 250 workers phase in higher wages over three years but impose the $15 rate immediately for larger businesses, reports TP.
What can I say? Seattle prepare for climbing unemployment and marginal workers being replaced by automated machines when possible.
(ht Jaison De Montalegre)
Bob - when pols make these absurd proposals to increase the minimum wage to $X, has there EVER been supporting evidence as to how they arrived at that particular dollar amount? I always find myself (after laughing at their stupidity) why $15? Why not $16? Why not $14.75? Wouldn't this fall into the category of something like a budget proposal? Where even bogus stats and figures at least provide SOME analysis for how they determined their amount?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they calculated how high they needed it to go in order to cover up inflation. It may be something like $14.78 or whatever. They just rounded off to the next highest number. They put it at 15 because it's easy to look at and a lot better than seeing 4 numbers at a time. You know, because it's scary to look at multiple numbers like adding big numbers. Keep it simple and easy to understand.
DeleteWhy a $15 minimum wage? Because these so-called guardians of the poor are cheapskates. If they really cared about the poor, they should make the minimum wage *at least* $500 per hour.
DeleteAlright Seattle idiots, you will reap what you sow.
ReplyDeleteIt'll be interesting to see how quickly businesses move out of the Seattle jurisdiction to escape this collective lunacy.
ReplyDeleteI find it hard to believe everyone voting for this nonsense could be this economically ignorant. They're simply playing to populist sentiment, no matter how destructive the policy will be in practice.
RW,
ReplyDeleteI say, let them have at it. We need a real world example of pols trying to bend economic law to their will. So let's see what happens. Let's watch the parade of excuses offered when the wheels come off the wagon. As you say, grab the popcorn!
But, they have Detroit, NYC (70's), Chicago, the whole Rust Belt... It's all been documented. Heck, Walter Williams even did a documentary on part of it.
DeleteI do agree with the real time journalism from a fiscal conservative perspective.
"I say, let them have at it. We need a real world example of pols trying to bend economic law to their will. "
DeleteWe have real world examples. The Idiot Left simply ignores it, as they always have. Their sick ideology is all based on EMOTION; wishful thinking. No amount of evidence or reality will change their tiny little minds.
I've got my popcorn ready though. Let's watch these worthless idiots sink ad then watch them make excuses and AGAIN blame the non-existent "free market".
Oh how I can't wait for the hippies to get thrown out on their asses. Of course, they'll just blame the "free" market, as usual.
ReplyDeleteSeattle voted for these nuts. Watch for small business to vacate as soon as possible. By not allowing tips to be counted toward minimum wage in 5 years--they are telling everyone that they are not really concerned about targeting wages toward people that need the most help. Sorry for those with little skills--you need not apply.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, mayors of neighboring suburbs are doing cartwheels in anticipation of the coming influx of new businesses to their burgs.
ReplyDeleteThink about this, if you live within 60miles of the city and you have average skills, at $15/hr, it probably makes it worth while to look for a job in Seattle.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, if you're a business subject to the new wage, it would make sense to upgrade your workforce since you should be able to attract a higher quality worker. Thus, during the implementation phase, it makes sense to start purging your workforce and hiring better skilled workers.
... Because business owners are too stupid to look for the best workers without government forcing them to. Genius.
DeleteIf you live 60 miles outside of Seattle, congrats! Jobs will be fleeing to your city.
DeleteAnon 3:59, sorry if my point flew right over your head. let me spell it out for you since I own several businesses and think like a businessman. If I were employing people at $8/hr and now you tell me I need to pay them $15, I can assure you that by the end of the year less than 10% will be still working for me at that wage. I will dump them and since I am forced to pay more for my labor, I now need to substantially increase worker productivity and without a doubt raise prices. To do that I will upgrade to a better worker -- probably one I would have never hired before because I would have never paid so much for this job. In short, what I am saying is that when you raise the rate this high, you essentially wipe out nearly all of today's people earning minimum wage.
DeleteLol. If that's how you run your business you're on the fast track to bankruptcy. Did you raise your employees wage to $15 an hour by yourself? Did you raise your employees wages 25% over night? I'm guessing no. So why not? Do you need gov parasites to tell you how to run your business profitably ?
DeleteRe: Anonymous,
DeleteThink about this[:] if you live within 60[ ]miles of the city and you have average skills, at $15/hr, it probably makes it worth while to look for a job in Seattle.
Indeed! Whether you will find said job is a whole other ball game.
Don't assume that your skills are worth $15/hr all of a sudden only because Kshama Sawant said so.
Secondly, if you're a business subject to the new wage, it would make sense to upgrade your workforce
Yes, it would make sense. It's called opportunity cost. It would also mean me as a businessman will now NOT hire the workers at the margin. So much for helping the little guy.
Thus, during the implementation phase, it makes sense to start purging your workforce and hiring better skilled workers.
Makes sense, right? Except - what IF the jobs you need to fill do NOT require people whose labor is really worth $15?
I explain the problems with the minimum wage here:
http://www.oldmexican.blogspot.com/2014/04/minimum-wage-and-vacuum-cleaners-re-post.html
I'm a little surprised and disappointed that no journalists or bloggers seem to be throwing the spotlight back on the protestors. How is it that these minimum wage agitators are satisfied with minimum wage increases that will be phased in over time?
ReplyDeleteThis is like grabbing a bullhorn and publicizing to the whole country "I *could* get an associate's degree, possibly even a bachelor's degree in the time it'll take for this law to become effective, but I'm pretty sure I'll still be making minimum wage. YOU HEAR ME, CITIZENRY?! I AM COMMITTING TO REMAINING IN A MINIMUM WAGE JOB, instead of moving up and out." A lot can happen in 2 or 3 years. But very few new job skills and academic degrees come are gained through pure magic with no deliberate effort.