Minimum Wage Fail

Welcome to Minimum Wage Fail. The intent and purpose of this website is to enable people who have been harmed by minimum wage increases to tell their stories here. With the recent enactment of higher minimum wages in several states this past election including Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington, a nationwide movement powered largely by trade unions and their progressive allies is gaining steam.

While talk of “living wages”, “fairness” and “equality” resonate with people and make for great sound bites, the sad fact is that no amount of legislation can change the laws of economics and human nature.

The undisputed fact is that ever since the first government mandated minimum wage was enacted in 1938 setting the minimum wage at $0.25 per hour ($4.25 in 2015 dollars), many studies by economists have found that minimum wage increases always result in reduced employment over time, and that this reduced employment disproportionately impacts young people and minorities, especially minority youth. There’s a reason why unemployment among young black men and women is 26%, and this tragedy fuels the crime and dysfunction found in our inner cities.

The purpose of this site to allow business owners – who may have to raise prices, lay off employees, cut elsewhere in the business or go out of business entirely; parents whose teenage children have trouble finding work between school years or semesters; and the actual young person who can’t find that first entry level job to talk about their experiences and frustrations.

In Seattle, where the minimum wage was increased recently, we hear second-hand stories about people that have requested fewer hours because higher earnings cut into their government benefits and cause them to be worse off than before. If this has happened to you, we want to hear your story.

When the minimum wage kicked up on January 1, 2017 in the four states mentioned above, did you experience higher prices in your favorite restaurants? Has anyone lost a favorite restaurant, winery or brewpub because the owner just couldn’t afford to stay in business anymore? We want to hear those stories too.

Of course, your story may be that you received a raise and you are better off financially. If so, we want your story too. But tell us honestly: are you the primary breadwinner for your family or are you somebody’s dependent? Did your raise come at the cost of one of your co-workers losing their job? Tell us about it.

All posts and comments will be moderated prior to publication. Personal attacks, profanity, abuse and bullying will not be tolerated. Posts and comments in violation of this simple guideline will be deleted and the users banned.

In a perfect world, the stories you share on this site will be used to guide voters and elected officials across America to realize and recognize the true human cost of minimum wage increases and resist the temptation to vote for them.

Thank you. We look forward to hearing and sharing your stories.