I don't dispute that, but the price increase will be a fraction of the wage increase, meaning wages will rise higher than prices will, meaning poor people will have more buying power. A one cent increase in a box of mac and cheese or a seventeen cent increase for a big mac does not justify keeping wages so low people require government assistance
My only concern is the small buisness owners. I support a wage increase, but not increasing so high that it will force some companies to downsize or go under.
I spent alot of time today talking to my wife and one of my employees about how my buisness could be effected by this wage increase.
My wife is of the opinion that if i were to raise all my employees pay the same amount that the minimum wage was raised (7.25-15 would be 7.75.) that it would still give them the same amount per week more than what a minimum wage worker would make with the same hours.
Brandon (my employee and good friend) said that he thinks if he were in my position that he would do the same thing, but lay off the part time guys and just call them when i need a fill in. He said that if it were him, he would raise the wages over the course of a year or two so that it wasnt an immediate blow to the company and that i could gradually raise prices as well to make up for the labor cost, and he said he would also put out a flyer or letter to frequent customers to explain why the costs are going up and how we plan on doing it gradually. He then went on to tell me that he is pretty sure my crew would stick around even if i didnt give them an immediate raise, but even if they all left he would stay.
Someone told me Seattle has a policy to protect small buisness and make it easier for them to deal with the wage increase. Anyone care to explain?
My thought is that if the wage goes up dramatically, i will sit down with each employee and discuss what they think is fair and negotiate a new wage based off the experience and skill they posess. I may have to cut a guy or two as well, and possibly shorten some hours. Almost certainly the off season bonus would disappear.
Labor makes up about 35% of what i charge the client. (Depending on the type of job and not including material.) sometimes almost 80%. If my labor cost goes up 50% my prices clearly are going way up as well.
I wanna thank everyone so far thats posted on this thread. This discussion may actually help me out, it has me really focusing on how to prepare for the future. Eventually the minimum wage IS going up. Whether its to 15$ or 10$ i dont know, but either way i need to be ready for the way it will effect me.
Worst case scenario, ill sell my buisness and contracts to a larger outfit. I bet i could get 75,000 for just the equipment and the name. With the contracts.... Well im not sure but my inital investment was 8,000 so i win either way lol