Everybody told them that it was a monumentally-stupid idea; but noooooo:
Restaurants Unlimited, a Seattle-based chain with restaurant locations in 47 US cities, announced on Sunday it was seeking Chapter 11 protection, citing “progressive” wage laws.
The company, which has operated since the Lyndon Johnson Administration, said rising labor costs—part of a national trend of government-mandated minimum increases—were part of its decision.
Note the 47 cities affected by these closures (see link).
I would feel more sorry for the soon-to-be-laid-off workers, but I’m betting that most of them supported the higher-minimum-wage idiocy in the first place, so… sucks to be them. Maybe next time they’ll vote with their brains instead of with their greed. (Granted, working-class people have trouble making ends meet in liberal shitholes like Seattle and San Francisco; but the politicians who have caused the high housing prices are the same ones who pushed through the higher minimum-wage thresholds. So there’s a double whammy here, and yet those idiot voters keep sending them back into office.)
Of course, it’ll be all Trump’s fault (according to the West Coast media).
Kim, I’m a charter lurker from the very beginning. Yours is the first site I read every morning. One day when I’m in your area I would love to take you to the range.
I thought I might stick my two cents in here, as this situation is a pet peeve of mine. I wondered how many of your readers are aware that many government and public unions have contracts with wage rates indexed to the minimum wage? The SEIU especially has a vested interest in raising the minimum, and if you examine photos of so-called spontaneous demonstrations you will usually spot SEIU organizers and pre-printed signs by them. Then follow their donations to politicians and the biggest proponents of minimum wage hikes are also the beneficiaries of union political contributions. Funny that, huh?
There’s no question about inflation; just look at the sky-rocketing prices on the menus at the local diners, and I’m not talking about those in and (closely) around the blue cesspools. The food service industry should be viewed as the canary.
For further affirmation, look at the strongly rising number of elderly men eking out their SS payments, living off their retirement savings, and/or working at Home Depot, just to make ends meet.
If San Franfreakshow has to close their businesses artificially inflating wages, how will Kim ever meet his goal of inspiring angry poetry in a liberal coffee shop?
re:
‘a living minimum wage’
A couple months ago, we left our family farm near the outskirts of Eugene Oregon. We drove through the beautiful eastern Oregon isolation to Boise Idaho for an equipment auction.
In Boise, Golden Corral buffet was us$8.76, same as always.
Then we went to Vancouver Washington (the state). In Vancouver, Golden Corral buffet was us$8.76, same as always.
Then we went behind enemy lines to Sacramento California. Golden Corral buffet was us$12.04, so I chatted with the staff about the differences.
The worker-bees were excited about their instant raise based on the voters magically creating ‘a living minimum wage’.
The managers were very worried. Each time we visited that location, they had lines out the door.
Two months ago, they had maybe fifteen percent occupancy, down eighty-five percent. No business can survive that amount of loss.
* * * * *
Here in Eugene Oregon, we have a branch outlet of NaturalGrocers health-food stores. Family-owned, one-hundred fifty-five stores in sixty-four years in nineteen states, not ever would they consider investing in California.
And Californians are yakking some blatherings about reducing the work-week hours for farm-laborers so they can get over-time quicker. Unfortunately, with the truly shocking numbers of farm-laborers == several thousand marginally-competent competing for each paying position == a few get less hours then get dismissed, then they are easily replaced with a few others getting some of their remaining hours. Another lose-lose feel-good proposal.
They lose their jobs after voting for the minimum wage and will vote for it again and again because….well, insanity.