This is for the employers who currently have employees making less than $15/hr. If you had to raise their pay to $15/hr and also boost employees pay that currently make bout $15/hr, what would you do? How many would you have to lay off, if any. What expenses would have to be cut to offset the additional cost? I'm a business owner but have no employees except an occasional temp. but I would have to cut that a lot.

Most would simply cut back on employees to balance the pay output but would fall behind on production and go out of business.
That model would fall under the long term democrat plan for bringing America into a third world existence

The Congressional Budget office just released a report on this. They are not partisan. The results aren't pretty. Hundreds of thousands of jobs lost.

Overall costs on everything would go up and the effect Dems desire would be nullified. Simple economics. When costs go up, so does pricing.

It’s hard for some to comprehend that everyone can not be paid the same for all the many different professions. I have to bust my butt to make it, I know I can’t be compensated like a Dr. or Nuclear engineer..

I sure would like to make $15 an hour...i aint ever made close to that in alabama...right now im bout 8 years worth of raises from bein there. Me and my wife are young..she makes a good bit more than me and breaks that $15 mark. If it wasnt for her working we would fold...thing is most employers around here could afford to pay more...they just dont...i cant think of but just a few places around here that pay a living wage...ive also never worked for an employer who cared whether i lived or died. I work hard...because its expected of me being young and all..im actually the youngest on my crew..the others are old and broke down...we hire the old and broke down or the worthless and no account...im smart...and i know stuff...has never mattered..they want me from the kneck down...dont want me to make any money...keep me where im at and keep my mouth shut...i knew that before i started any of the jobs ive had...somebody at the top pointing and telling me what to do in their bermuda shorts and collard shirts and their $70k truck. It sucks but i do it...an i just keep tellin myself one day...maybe i could be that guy...ill go tomorrow and get the results of my last mri..think ive got a slipped disk in my kneck at 25...im a red blooded american and i believe in my country....but id like to see somebody really go to bat for folks like me...i couldnt care less who it is...but ive got more money in my poket since trump became president...best ive seen it in my young life...i got good insurance tho...it tastes awful

What line of work are you in Carbon?

Carbon what do you do for a living if you don’t mind me asking..and I agree with the sentiment that the middle/working class is being ignored by both parties but I don’t believe a $15 minimum wage is the answer, though raising to 8-8.5 would seem rational.

Grundan, what most can't understand is that minimum wage is for entry level jobs. To make more money you, need to progress to the next level and not expect more money just because you have been on the job without achieving a promotion or excelling.

As I understand it, very few people actually make minimum wage. That’s where they start and they go up from there in a few months.

I can’t imagine someone making $7.25 for years and years and not asking for more. If they didn’t, that’s on them.

Munipal construction(i work for the city)..im just hot and in a bad mood...im thankful to have a job around here at all. I do alot of concrete and block masonry work doin drain boxes..alot of pipe installation...i run a shovel alot..it aint that bad...i just get on my soap box sometimes...sorry bout that

Get cdls if u don't have em u can make 50k+ being local driver home at night

Carbon, I was in the same boat you were in during my early 20’s. You’re building your resume right now and you can use your experience to get a better job down the road. Keep your nose to the grindstone buddy.

alot of people dont make $15 an hour fresh out of college or trade school I think I started at $12.50 fresh out of trade school for HVAC took dang near close to 10 years to get over $20. there is absolutely no reason a person should be paid $15 for unskilled labor other than their contempt for what they consider to be the top 1% you can not run a business and pay those wages especially after you match your employees SS and Medicaid withholdings youd need to lay off half your staff to stay in business or drastically increase your prices. either way youd go out of business. Alot of small businesses suffered trying to pay for health insurance under Obama care this is just another straw on the camels back.

How many years have you worked at this job with the city?

If you don't raise every employees salary by the same percentage then you devalue all you skilled employees.

Yep. The biggest opponents of a $15 minimum wage aren’t people making $100 an hour, it’s the people already making $15 an hour.

this if I was told our helper was about to jump from $10-$15 an hour but my pay was staying the same id be highly pissed off. Truth is we probably just wouldnt have a helper anymore wed be expected to work harder to offset the loss. they are shooting themselves in the foot pushing this. wonder what unemployment compensation would be at $15 minimum wage I think thats what they really want.

Speaking from my restaurant industry experience most if not all mom and pop restaurants would go out of business. Only the big boys would be left. Menu prices would go up for sure. To me, one of the biggest unintended consequences that no one talks about is how unfair it would be for the people that really do deserve a raise but now can’t get one. If you force everyone to make $15/hr than more than likely whatever money your employer had to give out raises will be gone. Imagine what that does to a persons incentive. Why work hard? your not going to get a raise. Also, what about the people currently making $15/hr. Do you think they’ll now be happy making minimum wage with everyone else? They worked hard to get those raises and for what now? And it would be highly doubtful that their employer would have anything left to pay them more. In my opinion, a government mandated minimum wage is a stupid idea at any wage.

*edited* well it took me so long to type this out that I missed y’all covering that last bit. Glad I’m not the only one that understands that.