Small Businesses – Ever since the President proposed raising the minimum wage from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $9 during his State of the Union address back in February, small business owners have been weighing in with substantial concerns. But findings released just this week by the Small Business Majority tell a different story.
Two-thirds of the 500 small business owners surveyed, in this case, said they support such an increase, coupled with an annual adjustment for inflation. Moreover, 85% of them report they already pay their employees more than the current minimum wage. Their take on the subject? That raising the minimum wage will actually benefit small businesses because it will increase consumer spending, which is good for the overall economy.
Retailers and fast-food restaurant owners have been particularly vocal when it comes to opposing a minimum wage hike, claiming it will cut too deeply into their profit margins and therefore prevent them from hiring or expanding their operations. Their position has been supported by survey findings by other small-business advocacy organizations, such as the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and the National Small Business Association (NSBA).
Of particular interest is the fact that support for the President’s proposal in this particular survey cut across party lines, with 46% self-identifying as Republican, 35% Democrat and 11% independent.
“From a point of view for strategy, if you are trying to build momentum, you will start with places that are more gettable,” such as cities with a high cost of living, said Yannet Lathrop, research and policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, which supports higher wages.
More than 4 of 10 employees in the U.S. earn less than $15 an hour, including 96 percent of fast-food workers, according to NELP. Nine cities and states around the country have boosted hourly wages to $15.
But in Lathrop’s analysis, it’s not only America’s costliest cities that will soon require a $15-per-hour minimum wage. Most Americans, whether they live in Alabama or New York, will need to earn at least $15 an hour to make ends meet by 2020, she said in a recent CBS news report.
HOT TOPIC! What do you think? Is it time to raise the minimum wage? What or why not? How will raising the minimum wage affect your small business or small businesses overall? Let us hear from you…
Source: CBS News