'Small businesses don’t have piles of cash sitting around to pay for all these expenses.'
Despite a minimum wage that’s already higher than the federal rate, some in Colorado are pushing for further increases, which would add to the costs faced by small business owners.
Protesters in Denver have marched in support of a $15 an hour minimum wage. And in the Colorado legislature, lawmakers proposed a bill that would have let cities raise the minimum wage higher than the current state rate of $8.23 an hour. Another bill would have asked voters to raise the minimum wage to $12.50 by 2020. Neither bill passed, but small business owners still worry about the increasing calls for a minimum wage hike.
“We’d have to increase prices in order to cover that cost, because small businesses don’t have piles of cash sitting around to pay for all these expenses,” says Susan Kochevar, owner of 88 Drive-In Theatre in Commerce City. “All of our money comes from our customers.”
Kochevar says higher wage costs would also affect her ability to hire.
“It will impact the number of employees I can hire, for sure, with those costs,” she says. “And I’m going to want highly skilled people at that price. So, it shuts out people who are looking for first-time jobs to build their skills and establish credibility as a good worker.”
NFIB Colorado State Director Tony Gagliardi agrees.
“A hike in the minimum wage would harm those businesses still recovering from the slowdown in Colorado’s economy,” he says. “Some would have to decrease employment rather than expand employment.”
While supporters of a minimum wage increase might mean well, it’s not the best solution, Gagliardi says.
“Minimum wage has never had an effect on reducing poverty and never will,” he says. “Career training and empowerment are best for alleviating poverty, not reliance on a minimum wage job.”
How would a minimum wage increase affect your small business? Tell us in the comments section below.
