37 cents is a lot

Larry Blanchard (“Minimum wage overblown,” Jan. 10), clearly you are not a business owner – perhaps independently wealthy? As a small business owner, may I explain something?

Comparing coffee shops to restaurants is apples to oranges. Although wholesale coffee prices are rising, it is nothing compared to produce, meat and spices.

Do you ever shop in a market? The costs of running a restaurant do not begin and end with the number of patrons in the front of the house.

While you infer that 37 cents is nothing in the scheme of things, it actually is huge. In 2007, the minimum wage in Washington (now highest minimum in the country – almost 25 percent higher than the federal minimum) was $7.93. Now it is $9.04 and, with inflation, another hike next year of about 31 cents. When does it stop?

Minimum wage hikes cause groceries to go up, insurance, taxes and rent increase, and profit margins for most businesses decrease. There are advertising fees, maintenance and improvement fees on the building, and money donated to local schools and charities on a regular basis.

As you sit, sip and smirk over a mere 37 cents, you might consider each sip costs you more as wages increase, and savor that cup you are enjoying right now!

Kati Carl

Spokane