[bigfartchili]

As a small business owner in a state that recently passed minimum wage hikes up to 50% higher than 5 years early let me share my experience. We have raised wages pretty dramatically but realistically it has absolutely nothing to do with the minimum wage hike. Since unemployment is so low in our state we actively need to compete with other businesses to hire people and the strongest selling point is offering better wages. Now obviously the hike has forced us to pay more than we regularly would.

The results of this is that we have raised the amount we charge customers. Those customers then complain that their having to pay more for the same service. At the same time every single apartment in this area has had its rent increased by a large margin. Cost of goods have gone up. Cost of services has gone up. House prices has gone up as labor cost has as well. The people making 15 per hour before are now getting paid the same as the entry level workers. Any employee that has been loyal to the company has not had the same wage increase as the other workers yet they are paying more for everything they purchase.

In my opinion minimum wage hike is “working” simply because of the low unemployment rate and the booming economy. The statistics don’t really paint an accurate picture. Ask any of my employees if they are better off today than they were 5 years ago and most would say no. The employees we have had for 5+ years would say they are worse off today.