It’s not as simple as it sounds.

IMHO, it will cause more harm than good.

In my state, minimum wage just increased to a little over $12/hr. A $3/hr. raise is a lot for an employer to cover. Not to mention, the folks that are already making that much and have significant time and responsibilities with an employer are going to have to get a raise commensurate to the entry-level employees, otherwise there’s no reason for them to stay on and carry the extra responsibilities. It can be too much for an employer to cover and will result in layoffs and job cuts. It’s less costly to hire part-time employees that don’t get benefits or overtime pay.

The cost of everything else will increase as employers will need to charge more for their products and services to cover their increase in expenses.

Some self-employed, small business owners don’t even make minimum wage themselves, especially when the hours they dedicate to their business is considered. I certainly won’t be paying an employee 3x what I make when they don’t carry anywhere near the risk and responsibility I do.

I can already feel my blood boiling when my clients, that get a raise because of the minimum wage increase, start complaining about my rate increases to cover the increase in my expenses, while I continue to make a four figure profit.

The politicians that vote for this increase should be giving up a percentage of their six figure salaries to go to the employers that can’t afford it.

Haven’t we seen enough small businesses close this past year?

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