Who’d a-thunk it? Following $15 minimum wage in SeaTac, local businesses are adding a 8.25% ‘living wage surcharge’

Contrary to what supporters claim, increasing the minimum wage does not create jobs and stimulate the economy.  The higher wages are not free money.  The increased cost must either be absorbed by the employer, which is impossible for many who already operate on shoe-string profit margins, or it must be passed on to workers, in the form of reduced hours and benefits, and consumers, in the form of higher prices.  Either way, someone pays. John Hames shared with you:   Who'd a-thunk it? Following $15 minimum wage in SeaTac, local businesses are adding a 8.25% 'living wage surcharge' aei-ideas.org - Erin Shannon, Director of the Center for Small Business writes on The Washington Policy Center blog that "In SeaTac, Everyone Pays for the $15 Minimum Wage": Last week I blogged about SeaTac employers who have responded to the new $15 minimum wage law by reducing or eliminating the benefits workers receive. Employees earning the new wage say they have lost benefits such as 401k, paid holidays, paid vacation, free food, free parking and overtime hours. As one SeaTac worker put it, "It sounds good, but it's not good." Available on the App Store.

John Hames