Olympia should adopt a $15 minimum wage
One of the best things that could happen to Tumwater and Lacey is for Olympia to adopt a $15 minimum wage.
Small businesses in Olympia would have to raise the price of the items they sell – thus driving shoppers outside the city. More significantly – – small businesses would close their Olympia shops and move outside the city limits perhaps to Lacey or Tumwater.
For all the talk of how significant and important Olympia is – – the fact of the matter is – – that Olympia is just part of a larger community. What happens in one city impacts all three cities – – sometimes to the negative, sometimes to the positive.
Nothing would make Lacey and Tumwater happier than to have Olympia adopt a $15 minimum wage.
All of that aside – – a $15 minimum wage takes many workers out of the market. Why start a high school student or a college student out at $15 an hour when a 20 or 30 year-old with more experience will work for the same price?
A $15 minimum wage produces wage inflation. If $15 is the floor, then everyone up the pay ladder will have to be paid more. This increase in labor costs – results in higher prices to the consumer – or a reduction in the number of employees.
In labor tight markets – such a Seattle – – you can get away with a super-high minimum wage. It’s unemployment is below 5 percent. In other markets such as Thurston County – there are more people looking for work.
A $15 minimum wage skews the marketplace – – even more so here – – where businesses and customers can move easily. And, they will move – – to Lacey or Tumwater.
Posted in Business, Government, Informational, Local Politics, The Real News