[Reno89519]

That is too complicated. I really do not have a problem with a $15 an hour national minimum wage. I truly think that most companies will survive just fine. What we really need is to implement E-Verify for all existing and future workers. That will help American workers more than anything else Congress might do.

[central_va]

$15.00/hr pretty much takes a married couple, BOTH earning that ($30.00/hr), off of any public assistance.

[Svartalfiar]

That is too complicated. I really do not have a problem with a $15 an hour national minimum wage. I truly think that most companies will survive just fine.

Perhaps, but just about everything will, eventually, double in cost. (Ignoring jobs lost from automation). Labor is, ultimately, the biggest cost of everything. It varies greatly across industries, but most businesses range from 20-60% in labor costs, with an average around 30%. So let's look at your Mickey D's menu. Around 30% off the bat is labor. But then everything that isn't labor costs - rent, food, drinks, electricity, water, and so on... All of that is billed to McDs by other companies. Including their ~30% labor costs. So now we're up to the end bill being 51% labor. But wait, what if half of those vendor companies, also have more vendors up the chain? That's another 30% of half of the 30% of the 70% of your burger, adding in another 7.5% of your burger being labor costs. We're up to almost 60% of your dollar being labor costs. If the bottom level of labor jumps from $7.25 up to $15, your dollar menu is gonna be a $1.50-$2 menu.

Almost EVERYTHING will rise by 50% in cost, or be half the size at the same price.