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Originally Posted by PepsiFree
People keep saying this like it’s more compelling than the fact that people are working full time jobs that do not pay them enough to live.
Yes, businesses are full of people. If you close businesses you affect people negatively. But what’s the value of a business that can only function on paying people less than they can afford to live?
If you believe in the wonderful powers of capitalism and the basic elements of supply and demand, then you have to believe those businesses either a) won’t close or b) will see the gap of their closure filled by another business. If not, a business that pays people too little to live and exists without appropriate demand is pointless.
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There are areas of the US where it is not economically viable to have shops and restaurants and similar local businesses if the min wage is $15. If those businesses shut their doors, then that town loses those businesses and people will have to travel to a bigger town or city for those things. I'm not convinced that is a positive consequence.
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Our options are:
1. Ensure people are paid a living wage, regardless of where they are, and adjust as necessary
2. Have the government pay people a universal basic income that ensures they have a living wage
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Then you agree that a $15 national min wage is a bad idea since it doesn't accomplish either of those things.