[NittanyLion]

Assume you're a business owner that has 30 workers. The edict now applys to you. You have to cut costs or raise prices to maintain profitability. Raising prices would hurt you against your competitors so you look to cutting costs. The quickest and most painless route to take would be to fire 6 employees. You're under the cap and you're still competative.

I'm sure Santa Fe politicians will quickly determine the next logical step: just prevent employers from firing their employees to get under the cap. Problem solved.

See how easy it is when you've never produced a damn thing in your life?

[17th Miss Regt]

Yep. That's what they will do. The pay rates go up and now the business owner has 30 folks and a payroll he can't meet, so he has to lay off 6 workers. The reason is slightly different - not enough money to pay present salaries versus not enough money to cover future increased salaries, but the effect is the same. Now the city can't gripe. But they can pat themselves on the back for adding 6 more dependents to their unemployment rolls. Always look for the silver lining!