The Progressive Minimum Wage Hike Backfires in Suburban Seattle Town

We see the effects of an increased minimum wage on a small suburban town right outside of Seattle called SeaTac.  At the beginning of the year it was decided that minimum wage in this town would be raised to $15 an hour.  

This wage hike was initially met with applause and adulation as many thought it would bring more jobs to town and put more money in people’s pockets. Little did they realize it may put more money in people’s pockets but there are less pockets being filled as many businesses proceeded to lay off workers, cut back on benefits, and raise the prices of the goods and services they offer.

As reported in the Seattle Times the $15 minimum wage floor will inevitably have “some casualties” as  “unskilled workers are going to have a harder time finding jobs” and workers who manage to find work will “have to go the extra distance” to earn their $15 wage.

With the increased wage floor created by the minimum wage hike comes the need to pay higher skilled employees in proportion to the lower skilled wage earners. If one individual is starting out at $15 an hour and another employee has been there for an extended period of time only earning roughly $17 an hour that hardly seems fair.  After all isn’t the minimum wage increase designed to ensure everyone earns a “living wage”. Why should a worker who is starting out earn nearly as much as a higher skilled senior level employee?

It has become quite obvious that the negative effects of increasing the minimum wage far outweigh any “possible” positive outcomes. Capitalism and the laws of supply and demand should determine wages. It is not the government’s responsibility to determine how much an individual should be making, if one wants to earn a higher salary simply work harder and smarter. There are still far more opportunities in this country than any other country in the world if you are simply willing to pay the price.