This fight for $15 leader, Naquasia LeGrand, is in complete denial, she has no clue how business economics works. She believes that a rapid wage hike now is a good thing because “people are losing their jobs as we speak”. Well as I warned in 2015 there are 6 options business owners have but in the end it will result in more job losses.
When you increase wages you are in fact increasing operating expenses. This means costs go up. Your costs go up then business owners must raise prices to keep the doors open. While this sounds great many are already pushing the limit with price hikes risking the loss of customers/ clientele to larger businesses who have greater buying power which allows them lower costs. In the short run, small business owners will be the first victims of this social justice warrior act of insanity for income equality. Small business owners will first cut whatever expenses they can, next cur worker hours, followed by price hike and then a staff reduction. High prices poor service (will happen from lack of needed workers) will eventually lead to said businesses closing their doors because this push for $15 an hour doesn’t work.
Larger businesses will be able to weather this storm longer as they can spread out the costs but they too will eventually make all the same cuts, where they haven’t already, and again eventually cut staff. You see one of things no one is talking about is this won’t be the last call for a wage increase. Once everyone is at $15 then there will be calls for $17… $20!
You 15’ers have no idea what you have done. Flipping burgers, stocking shelves, running a cash register is low-skilled work, YOU DO NOT DESERVE to make more money than people who have more skills and education! Americans DO NOT care about how you don’t make a living wage to support your family of 5 on a part time job because that job was never meant to support a family of 4 or 5! That job was meant to offer entry level experience and training to young people, and to provide supplemental income for those with full time jobs. You have more or less signed your own job death warrant where you will be fired. Workers will be saddled with twice as many job duties to compensate, someday they’ll be replaced with machines or again as I warned the business will close up.
Enjoy you wage hike over the next few years and bank every penny because you will need it when the job is no longer there.