It is a Republican mantra that raising the minimum wage would cause layoffs - and raising it up to a livable wage would cause massive layoffs. That is simply never been true.
California recently raised the minimum wage for fast food workers (traditionally among the lowest paid workers) to $20 an hour. Did it cause massive layoffs? No! It didn't cause layoffs at all. The number of fast food jobs actually increased!
How could this be? After all, it sounds reasonable that higher wages would result in layoffs. But while it may sound reasonable, it violates good business principles.
Any well run business will hire the number of workers it takes to deliver their product to customers in the most efficient way. If it hires too few workers, the product will not be able to be delivered in a fast and efficient way - and customers will go to another business that can do that. If it hires too many workers, it will waste money (cutting into profits).
The truth is that the appropriate number of workers will be hired regardless of whether the minimum wage is low or high.
Another lie told by the GOP is that a business would have to raise prices with a higher wage and thus lose out to a competitor. That makes no sense because all competitors would be paying the same minimum wage.
Don't believe the Republican lies! The minimum wage should be a livable wage.
