According to a report from the Associated Press, low-wage workers in Seattle are campaigning to have the minimum wage raised to $15 an hour.
Washington already owns the highest state minimum wage in the country at $9.19 an hour, but retail clerks, baristas and food service workers are pushing a movement to get out from underneath the poverty line.
A higher minimum wage eliminates low wage jobs because that's how small businesses cut costs and that ends up hurting the people it was supposed to benefit, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
More than 15 million workers earn the national minimum wage, making about $15,080 a year—$50 below the federal poverty line for a family of two. San Francisco currently has the highest minimum wage for all workers at $10.50 an hour.
Economist Chris Benner of the University of California at Davis does not agree that a higher minimum wage would lead to job losses.
"There may be some job impact in those small businesses themselves," he said. But in the entire economy, when you increase income to low-wage workers, it creates jobs because those workers are likely to spend their additional income and that increases demand for goods and services.
One woman employed at Subway lost her jobs because of the rally's she participated in. While I understand the fight, I'm not sure if rushing out to protest about how you can't pay your bills is a good idea when without a job, you really can't pay your bills.
"I have co-workers who are single moms. I honestly don't know how they make it," Caroline Durocher told the AP.
Unfortunately for employees and fortunately for big retailers like Walmart, this proposed bill doesn't have a lot of traction, although local politicians haven't said no outright.
