D.C. Demonstrates Complete Left-Wing Disconnect on Jobs and Wages - Granite Grok

D.C. Demonstrates Complete Left-Wing Disconnect on Jobs and Wages

Minimum wage hikeWashington D.C. hiked its minimum wage. Businesses reacted.

(Free BeaconNearly half of Washington, D.C. employers said they have either laid off employees or reduced the hours of employees to adapt to the District of Columbia’s minimum wage hikes since 2014, according to a report from the Employment Policies Institute.

The city and its Democrat Mayor and City Council want to increase the minimum wage further, to…you guessed it, $15.00/hour.

Guess what business owners had to say about that?

According to the report, just over half of the businesses surveyed said they planned to raise prices in order to offset the cost of a minimum wage hike. Thirty-five percent said they would likely reduce staffing levels and 37 percent said they would reduce employees’ hours or reduce the number of hours they were open for business. Thirty-one percent of businesses said they were very likely to hire more skilled workers in the future to offset the higher wage.

One in five businesses said they would move out of the District of Columbia and into Arlington, Virginia where the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Sixteen percent of businesses surveyed said they were somewhat likely to close their business if the minimum wage hike were implemented and 6 percent of businesses said they would likely close.

“These results are consistent with the best and most recent published research on the minimum wage, which finds that past increases (at lower proposed wage levels) have reduced employment for younger and less-educated employees,” the report states.

“These proposed laws have encouraged a perception that D.C. is becoming less friendly for businesses,” the report says. “Two-thirds of surveyed businesses agreed with this sentiment, with half strongly agreeing that D.C. is becoming a business-unfriendly city.”

Here is where the disconnect part comes in. The mayor, when asked said, “that there was consensus that a $15 minimum wage was the right thing to do for the District of Columbia.”

The right thing for who and a consensus among whom, Democrat politicians and union bosses?

“We are glad there is consensus around a $15 minimum wage and welcome the ongoing conversation on how best to support our workers, while creating an environment where businesses can start, grow, and thrive in all 8 wards,” Bowser said.

Business owners say they must raise prices, cut hours, cut jobs, only higher skilled workers instead of entry level, will move their business out of D.C, or close it, and the Democrat mayor of Washington D.C. says a $15 dollar minimum wage is the right thing to do.”

There may be no finer example of the complete disconnect between the narrative mills and rhetoric of the political left and reality than this. Or are the Mayor, City Council, and whomever else is among those in that consensus, seeking a city with even higher prices, less competition, shorter hours (decreased access), and fewer employment opportunities–particularly for unskilled or first-time job seekers?

Which is it?

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