Seattle Enacts $15 Minimum Wage

Phased in over three to seven years, Seattle will have the highest minimum wage in America. We’ll still be a couple dollars below Australia....

“While this is a bold proposal, it is a moderate proposal: There’s a seven-year phase in,” Mayor Ed Murray said. The process of compromise brought “huge wins” for business, particularly small business, during implementation, the mayor added....

Inside the council chamber, however, attacks on the plan came from the left. Backed by a crowd of chanting supporters — and speaking to the crowd — Socialist City Council member Kshama Sawant tried to rollback provisions such as training wages and a temporary incorporation of tips into the $15 wage base....

At the same time, Sawant was declaring victory, saying that the battle for a $15-an-hour wage was “won on the streets,” adding, “We defeated the arguments of business in the corporate media....”

The sharpest critique of Seattle’s process has come from David Meinert, owner of The Comet Tavern and 5-Point Cafe, and a member of Murray’s task force. Meinert aired blunt opinions of the wage plan on his Facebook page last week....

“We have a messy ordinance with four different minimum wages, different phase in times for different businesses, a move away from standard definitions of what a business is and what an employee is, and confusing elements like ‘phasing out’ of tips and health care benefits.”

What good is a $15dollar minimum wage when there's no minimum wage positions? Seems a bit paradoxical no?

Why stop at 15 why not 40 dollars an hour. I want my Starbucks coffee to cost at least 10 dollar a cup.

I take it you have absolutely no idea how are economy works, but that's ok, alot of people say the same generic thing...

raising minimum wage is a good thing...

Over the course of 7 years. I'm sure people are ecstatic.

Explain that to the people that get fired because of this.

I take it you have absolutely no idea how are economy works, but that's ok, alot of people say the same generic thing...

raising minimum wage is a good thing...

more money in the hands of poor/stupid people means they will spend more money on useless stuff, therefore economy boost

Just means i'd be making 20-30 an hour now instead of what I make...

I'm ok with that :p

more money in the hands of poor/stupid people means they will spend more money on useless stuff, therefore economy boost

My question is:

Is Starbucks (and any other company who's home office is in Seattle) going to raise the price of their product nation/worldwide to help pay for this labor increase, or will they just raise the price locally?

I'm pretty sure that prices will be raised with each pay increase over the next 7 years intercity, where businesses inside the city going out of business when people start shopping outside the city for their crap.

more money in the hands of poor/stupid people means they will spend more money on useless stuff, therefore economy boost

more money in the hands of poor/stupid people means they will spend more money on useless stuff, therefore economy boost

I had a moment of inspiration from this thread. I'm gonna start calling everyone from Washington State "Starbucks" in the most aggressive manner possible, and see if I can get that word turned into a racial slur.

....
Anyways the real reason the Democrats pushed for a "national" minimum wage, even though it had zero chance of success, is that many union positions use the minimum wage as an index for the amount the company must pay the union worker. Raising the minimum wage also raise's of union employees.

The landlords of Seattle will pocket 80% of it.

Haven't you heard?

Actually, property is one of the only assets that historically rise in value at a stable and steady rate.

On average you can double your investment within 20 years. At least in Texas (not sure about other states, I'm pretty sure Detroit is in the negatives right now).