Say What? Small Businesses Support Minimum Wage Increase?

According to the Puget Sound Business Journal Many small businesses support minimum wage hike

Nearly half of all small-business owners favor an increase in the minimum wage, according to a survey conducted by the Gallup Organization for Wells Fargo.

Three-quarters say a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage would have no effect on them. Only 14 percent of small-business owners who are considering hiring new employees say they would start them at the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $5.15 an hour since 1997. Washington state’s current minimum wage is $7.63 per hour.

Mark Price, a labor economist with the Keystone Research Center in Harrisburg, Pa., said the study “shows that a higher minimum wage not only benefits workers but can spur economic growth that benefits small-business owners.”

“When these workers have more take-home pay, it leads to spending that trickles up to benefit many small, locally owned businesses,” Price said.

I’m always leery of “economists”… especially one who says that raising wages for unskilled labor is going to boost job development.

At best, higher pay may attract and retain people who are unskilled but have a better work ethic, those “soft skills” that employers say are lacking in today’s workforce… like not cussing out your customers, not showing off your tongue piercing while operating the cash register, and actually coming in to work.

If you could just boost job creation by boosting wages, why is the Detroit auto industry bankrupt and failing to sell cars? Why are we seeing jobs outsourced overseas to “save money”?

I think more questions need to be asked of these survey participants to see if they represent small business owners nationwide…rest assured this story will butress efforts to make your home business or small buisness pay more for labor.