Wage impact unsurprising

Wow. The recent article “Wage hikes tricky for some” notes the new minimum wage law is causing problems. Who knew? Well, small-business owners knew, and they warned about it, to no avail. Two days into the new year, and those chickens are already starting to roost.

I dined at my favorite restaurant on New Year’s Eve. They had already increased their pricing substantially to reflect their increased labor costs. Did your child care costs just go up $150 per month, and now are you making just enough money that you no longer are eligible for a subsidy? Well, just go out and spend that increased paycheck to provide small businesses with enough new business to cover the cost increases so they don’t need to raise prices, just as the proponents predicted.

Oh, wait. The entire increase is taken up by your increased child care costs, isn’t it? And now you can no longer afford to eat out occasionally. Not to worry. Soon those same people will be back demanding an even greater increase to keep up with the rising prices. I’m sure it will work next time, proving once again that you can fool some people all the time.

Hal Dixon

Spokane