Seattle's $15 minimum wage experiment is over - city thriving (school, retirement, federal)

[Seacove]

For Seattle, the $15. minimum wage makes complete sense. It's expensive to live here and our unemployment rate is under 4%. It probably wouldn't work in Kansas. Before people rush to move to Seattle though, they need to understand it is expensive to live here and there's more people trying to buy houses than houses available to buy. That's why the $15. minimum has so little impact. It's already very competitive and if you're living here, you probably are already close to making that to even afford to rent here.

[PedroMartinez]

I think Seattle has every right to pass such laws. If that is what most of the citizens there want, they should be able to do it.

I think such laws should be made locally. As pointed out above, the difference between Seattle and somewhere like Duncan OK can be substantial when it comes to cost of living.

I'll always vote that the government has no right to tell a person how much they can work for.

[Seacove]

Originally Posted by NewbieHere

On CNBC news it has been reported that casual restaurants have reported slower revenue. Macy's are closing and laying off. How is the minimum wage not affecting their business?

The Macy's that are closing are in Everett thirty miles north and Kelso, WA! Those are not Seattle. What casual restaurants in downtown Seattle are struggling? Amazon is in downtown Seattle. Expedia is moving to downtown Seattle. Facebook, Google, Microsoft etc. all have offices in downtown Seattle.

[1grin_g0]

Originally Posted by Seacove

For Seattle, the $15. minimum wage makes complete sense. It's expensive to live here and our unemployment rate is under 4%. It probably wouldn't work in Kansas. Before people rush to move to Seattle though, they need to understand it is expensive to live here and there's more people trying to buy houses than houses available to buy. That's why the $15. minimum has so little impact. It's already very competitive and if you're living here, you probably are already close to making that to even afford to rent here.

I agree that it should be addressed at the local level. The federal gov. would be wise to stay out of it. People are always free to move to a state that offers a higher minimum wage, if that's what they are looking for.

[Ih2puo]

Liberals are so gullible.

[whogo]

COL matters. It costs 38% more to live in Seattle than Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Minimum wage should be at the city or state level if done at all.

[bobisinthehouse]

The City of Seattle Government should be ashamed for allowing small Mom and Pop businesses to close their doors. All You 15 dollars an hour people ruined a lot of lives for the rest of us.

[SuperOscar]

Originally Posted by whogo

COL matters. It costs 38% more to live in Seattle than Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Minimum wage should be at the city or state level if done at all.

The federal minimum wage is too low to begin with, so we are already at that point where states and cities are raising it to the level it should be set at. I am expecting the Republicans to finally do away with the federal minimum wage so that we can really see the true importance of having a federal minimum.

[SuperOscar]

Originally Posted by bobisinthehouse

The City of Seattle Government should be ashamed for allowing small Mom and Pop businesses to close their doors. All You 15 dollars an hour people ruined a lot of lives for the rest of us.

Are you sure that is happening in Seattle? I know in Portland, the cost of wages aren't the issue for small businesses, it is the cost of rents being tripled so that building owners can make maximum profits that are hurting small businesses.

[marigolds6]

Originally Posted by jdm2008

This is one of the most absurd posts I've read in a while. You really are doing some mental gymnastics because the results of this law do not line up with your pre-conceived notions of what should happen.
Seattle's unemployment rate has fallen steadily since this law was implemented, sorry you just need to admit you are wrong!

Where are you getting the stats on Seattle's unemployment rate for low skill workers?
(Or better yet, population stats for low skill workers, to show they are not leaving Seattle instead of higher skill workers coming in.)

Also, it is not my mental gymnastics. That's directly from the UW study I linked to earlier.
Quoting from page 31 of that study:
"This increase in both business closures and business openings perhaps should not come as a
surprise. A higher minimum wage changes the type of business that can succeed profitably in
Seattle, and we should thus expect some extra churning. Our results are consistent with those of
Aaronson, French, and Sorkin (2016), who conclude that minimum wage laws prompt increases in
both entries and exits (particularly in chains), with closures coming from more labor intensive
industries and establishments, and more openings occurring in more capital intensive industries."

and on page 33:
"Further, while
these low-wage workers increased their likelihood of being employed relative to prior years, this
increase was less than in comparison regions. We estimate that the impact of the Ordinance was
a 1.1 percentage point decrease in likelihood of low-wage Seattle workers remaining employed.
While these low-wage workers increased their quarterly earnings relative to prior years, the
estimated impact of the Ordinance on earnings is small and sensitive to the choice of comparison
region. Finally, for those who kept their job, the Ordinance appears to have improved wages
and earnings, but decreased their likelihood of being employed in Seattle relative other parts of
the state of Washington."