Maybe the rents are too high and both the owners and workers are being squeezed by a housing and healthcare cost crunch, driving thousands of businesses out of the profitable range.
One of my friends likes to recall an experience from about a decade ago: he was working at a small firm and once went to the boss/owner to ask for a raise. The boss explained that right now the times are tough, there is no spare money in the business so he can't do anything but he'll keep his request in mind. Okay, but literally next week the boss drives to the job in a new (luxury) car. When my friend, after congratulating him with the purchase, asked about the money situation he was told to not count other people's money. The friend left the firm a couple of months later, without getting any raise during that time.
Sure, "the goal and purpose of any business to exist is only so that its owner can buy himself a new Ferrari" but... some workers tend to disagree, especially when they feel that they're doing the bulk of the actual of work without a correspondingly large compensation for it.
Sure, "the goal and purpose of any business to exist is only so that its owner can buy himself a new Ferrari" but... some workers tend to disagree, especially when they feel that they're doing the bulk of the actual of work without a correspondingly large compensation for it.