Penna Dexter

Calls for $15 hourly minimum wage laws are being answered in certain places across the country. Just this July 1st, 17 states and localities increased their wage floors. The idea of requiring companies to pay a so-called living wage sounds compassionate, but it’s not. Seattle started phasing in a $15 minimum three years ago and there’s little to celebrate. It’s hurting low-wage workers. A University of Washington study shows business establishments are simply cutting workers’ hours to compensate. The average low-wage worker is losing $125 a month. San Francisco’s $15 minimum is nearly phased in. Other Bay area cities are following suit. One result: restaurants are closing in droves. A joint study done by researchers at Harvard Business School and Mathematica Policy Research found that for every $1-per-hour hike in the minimum wage, there is a 14-percent increased likelihood that a restaurant rated 3½ stars on Yelp will go out of business. The minimum wage push has many large restaurant chains beginning the automation process. Kiosks popping up at Panera Bread, McDonalds, and Wendy’s mean customers barely interact with a human. There’s even a meat-flipping robot being introduced that can put out 360 evenly-cooked burgers in an hour. Andy Puzder was CEO, for 17 years, of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. He is outspoken about his concern that “government policies are destroying entry-level jobs by giving businesses an incentive to automate at an accelerated pace.” In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Mr. Puzder wrote, “It’s no surprise that restaurants are rolling out the robots.” Economist Walter Williams points out that the average wage for a cashier is $10 an hour. That works out to $21,000 per year — not a fortune, but “better,” writes Dr. Williams, “than going on welfare, needing unemployment compensation, or idleness.” Plus these jobs — often the first jobs for young people — teach them the importance of soft skills like punctuality and clear communication. Minimum wage laws destroy these opportunities.