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Originally Posted by Mike80911
I have eight employees at my café. I start everyone at minimum wage which in NY is $8.75. Once they have been with me a while and prove their value I raise their salary. My highest paid employee is currently making $12 per hour plus tips. If the minimum wage is increased to $15 per hour I will be faced with two choices lay off half my staff and only use 1 person per shift or close the doors completely. How does this help get people off of government assistance? Either 4 people will become unemployed or all 8 will. This is a small business that I keep basically because my wife enjoys it. There is really not much money in it so I have no problem closing the doors as I have other incomes that pay my bills.
Why not cut out some the taxes I pay on each of my employees and require the business owner to pass this money on to the employees.? I would gladly do that and if the powers that be are truly concerned with helping those workers they should be glad to do it.
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Well said, Mike. I own a couple of restaurants and a retail store as well and although I employ very well paid salaried managers, executive chefs and sous chefs I still cringe when I see these staged "protests" in my area. Most of the folks demonstrating seem to equate their earned wages with the value of their lives, and the fact is that in reality one has nothing to do with the other.
When my businesses run lean, I am the one that doesn't get paid. My employees will always get their checks before I will no matter what.
$15 minimum for fast food workers would change that industry overnight--most of those employees would ultimately lose their jobs to automation and rightfully so--as the business owner has the right to earn his "comfortable" living as much as people who think they've somehow earned or deserve to be paid $15 an hour.