$15 Minimum Wage - Seattle

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Will the last person leaving Seattle please turn off the lights?

The $15 Minimum Wage and The Unintended Consequences of Feel-Good Economics

Seattle’s city council (led by socialist Alternative City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, union bosses and Democratic Mayor Ed Murray) just preliminarily voted to increase the minimum wage (in phases) to the highest minimum wage in the world.

Now, as the Emerald City embarks on its merry way into uncharted economic territory, it may be worthwhile to look at its little neighbor, the tiny town of SeaTac, for an example of what may befall the much-larger metropolis.

Last year, unions outspent businesses in SeaTac, Washington 2 to 1 and won a ballot initiative to raise SeaTac’s minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Although SeaTac is really nothing more that a baby burb that houses an airport, workers have flocked there to apply for jobs and, in some cases, after only a few short months, the experiment raising of the minimum wage appears to beginning to take its toll on jobs and the workers who work them.

Some businesses have shut down, others have laid off workers, and some have tried to counteract the increase by charging a minimum wage surcharge, reports the Seattle Times.

To make matters worse, while one might think workers would be happy with the increase in their wages, it turns out that some are not happy with being the guinea pigs in a lesson in labor economics.

Asian Weekly, a Seattle-area weekly, spoke with several workers who had recently had their hourly wage raised to $15 and experienced the negative consequences of the mandate.

“Are you happy with the $15 wage?” I asked the full-time cleaning lady.

“It sounds good, but it’s not good,” the woman said.

“Why?” I asked.

“I lost my 401k, health insurance, paid holiday, and vacation,” she responded. “No more free food,” she added.

The hotel used to feed her. Now, she has to bring her own food. Also, no overtime, she said. She used to work extra hours and received overtime pay.

What else? I asked.

“I have to pay for parking,” she said. [Emphasis added.]

Asian Weekly also spoke with a part-time waitress who said her tips were much less than she used to get.

 

http://www.redstate.com/2014/06/02/will-last-person-leaving-seattle...