Owner of Pocono Whitewater offers business perspective
Governor Tom Wolf has called for raising Pennsylvania’s
minimum wage to $10.15 an hour. For many
of our members with a restaurant,
hospitality or recreational business, that creates
a dilemma. NFIB member Paul Fogal, the owner of Pocono Whitewater and
Skirmish Paintball, hires about 470 teenagers every summer. He says the nearly 3-dollar hike per hour would mean either
eliminating jobs or raising ticket prices.
Since his business comes from discretionary income, raising prices is
likely to result in less business. Eliminating
entry-level jobs will leave young,
inexperienced workers no opportunity to learn the most basic workplace lessons
or to move up the ranks.
Fogal and NFIB Pennsylvania’s Executive State Director,
Kevin Shivers, participated in a TV Town Hall on CBS 21 Tuesday to debate the
minimum wage issue. You can view the
entire broadcast by clicking HERE.