There’s a fight going on across America. You might have heard about it briefly on the morning news. Currently, fast food workers have been protesting their companies to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. They’re demanding higher pay to keep up with the growing cost of living. It’s an understandable position, but one that wouldn’t help in the long run.
Harri is a workplace management software company that wanted to see what impact a $15 minimum wage would have. It wouldn’t necessarily make things easier for those trying to earn more money. In fact, Harri surveyed 173 restaurants at over 4,000 locations across the United States. It found the information you’d pretty much expect.
For restaurants, they’d have to start increasing the prices of their menu items. Not to mention, cut down on employee hours. Those working a full-time schedule would be cut down to part-time. It would even result in staff being let go. Many in the Fight for $15 don’t understand that this will happen across the board.
The Fight for $15
As more people get behind the Fight for $15, so do states. Maryland and Illinois are two states that have passed laws phasing in a $15/hour minimum wage. On the federal level, Democrats have proposed the idea, but it’s a bill unlikely to pass. It threatens to stagnate the economy and halt any current growth we’re experiencing.
Except, that’s not what the advocates are saying. They’re saying it will stimulate the economy, putting more money in people’s pockets. Overall, the goal is to reduce income inequality. It would even reduce the number of people who need government assistance programs. But opponents of the Fight for $15 say it will have the opposite effect.
Small businesses would be hurt the most by this. Jobs would ultimately be eliminated. And if prices increase across the board, then it essentially wipes out any advancement these workers would be making. Essentially, their cost of living adjustment would increase their cost of living even more and put them back where they were.
The Results So Far
Looking at the cities and states that have increased their minimum wage, it forced businesses to make changes. These changes ultimately hurt the business and their customers. 71% of businesses raised their prices. That affects you as an everyday consumer. All the stores you shop would increase their prices dramatically.
Nearly half of the restaurants changed their menu to provide less options which reduced some costs. 64% of them reduced employee hours. 43% say they were forced to cut jobs. Only 23% of businesses made no changes overall. Those businesses were most likely nationwide chains who only had to make those changes in a few select stores.
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Overall, we should expect to see the Fight for $15 continue to rage on this summer. You as the consumer should expect to see higher prices across the board.
