But it may cause some south Seattle businesses to flee to Tukwila, Burien, and Renton for the 60% reduction in minimum wage. This will definitely be a boon for those local economies.

@2
Exactly. Not only that but Goldy's usual liberal short-sightedness doesn't even take into consideration that this refers only to established businesses and not to newer ones. If I was going to open a business that catered to a Seattle clientele and I could open in Bellevue, Shoreline, or Seattle itself, knowing that I could get labor for 60% less in Shoreline or Bellevue and still have the same customer base, where am I going to open a business?

Ever wonder why Microsoft and other large companies aren't even located in Seattle itself? Reason: it's too expensive. Same thing that happened to offices will also happen to retail if this passes.

@3 Likewise, quality employees will flee across the border to a higher wage Seattle, leaving non-Seattle businesses with less productive workers.

If downtown San Jose is the same ghost town it was after the last recession, they didn't have many businesses to lose, unless you're talking about McDonald's and Taco Bell.

Right, when I need lunch I'll leave my downtown Seattle office and cruise down to Burien or up to Shoreline so I can get my Jimmy John's for $.24 cheaper.

When I need a six pack of really good beer, instead of going to Full Throttle I can probably save a little bit if I drive down to 99 Bottles in Federal way or over to Malt and Vine in Redmond.

That'll show those commies and that Sawant nutter that I MEAN BUSINESS.

@3....umm....

https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/cons…

Granted, this is from 2007, but to the best of my knowledge, they're still in all of the locations cited.

@2 yeah, just like all the businesses that fled literally just across the street from San Jose to Cupertino, right?

@3 *cough, cough* Amazon, a company that calls out frugality as a value, no less.

Well, obviously, all the non-profits had to move out of San Jose. Second Harvest is gone. the Food Empowerment Project shuttered. The Fistula Foundation moved to greener pastures. Even Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue couldn't pay their one guy $10 per hour. Look it up.

Non profits need low, low wages and that's why there's none in San Jose any more, or what's left is much smaller, after the massive layoffs.

The best place for non-profits is where there's no minimum wage at all.

@3
Ah, yes. New businesses will naturally open in neighboring non-Seattle comunities. I mean the customer base in a non-walkable suburban area is EXACTLY the same as say Capitol Hill or Greenwood. I'll just stroll from the dense residential areas on down to Lake City Way just the way those folks in Lower Queen Anne do. Better yet, I can walk a few miles down Aurora if you set up shop there. Hell it's totally worth it to hop in the car and drive down to Tukwila because I hear there's this awesome florist there.

Location means nothing in business.

(If you get really close to your monitor you can smell the acrid aroma of snark)

2 3 4, well, guess we'll need it for the whole fucking state then; no reason hard working people should be shit on in one city and not another. Seattle and Bellevue and Tacoma and Kirkland and Redmond and Bothell and Woodinville and Issaquah are bourgeoisie richy richy enough to adjust to 15 bucks. After all, when a fucking hamburger costs 17 dollars and a glass of "craft" cider is 11, 15 bucks an hour ain't that much fucking dough. Amen.

In Seattle's case, it is much more interesting to think about the people who currently earn $10-$15/hour. This is being framed as a benefit to people currently earning minimum wage, but there are an awful lot more people who'd be affected by $5/hour increase than a $2/hour increase.

Also, "an increase in the minimum wage leads to an increase in the quality of employees" is only part of a complicated story. If the value of my labor is $14/hour (based on the prevailing wages of jobs I'm qualified to do), I'll probably choose company A that pays $14/hour over company B that pays $9.50/hour even if I would otherwise prefer to work for company B. The owner of company B would probably prefer to hire me (my labor is more valuable for a reason) but can do business just fine with $9.50/hour employees. If both a new law requires both companies to pay $15/hour, I'll probably quit company A to take a job at company B. The $9.50/hour employees at company B that aren't capable of turning themselves into $15/hour employees are likely to be replaced by people like me. The people who can't hack it quit and take $9.50/hour jobs in Renton or Shoreline. If this happens on a large scale, you've effectively shifted the benefits of the wage increase to people who were previously earning significantly more than minimum wage. This is one of many reasons why an increase in the minimum wage isn't all that effective of a way to help the poor even if it doesn't necessarily cause them to become unemployed.

"I could open in Bellevue, Shoreline, or Seattle itself, knowing that I could get labor for 60% less in Shoreline or Bellevue and still have the same customer base, where am I going to open a business?"

Except in no way, shape, or form are you going to have the same base as you would Seattle. Part of living in Seattle is not driving for a good 30 minutes to a restaurant, you fuckwit.

"Ever wonder why Microsoft and other large companies aren't even located in Seattle itself?"

Space for a large sum of development?

@10 Good thing most entry level jobs at non-profits in Seattle are unpaid internships.

San Jose has got it totally correct, we should raise the minimum wage to $10. Good work Goldy, for once I agree with you.

@3,

Funny you should mention that because my company, a huge multinational corporation, makes a habit of consolidating its various subsidiaries into one large office in a given metropolitan area, and it makes that determination by looking at where employees actually live. (It hasn't yet done so in Seattle, but probably will eventually.) When it consolidated its various offices in the San Francisco area, it actually cited the office *in San Francisco* because that was the most ideal location for its employees in the area.

It's not always about cost.

If both a new law requires both companies to pay $15/hour, I'll probably quit company A to take a job at company B. The $9.50/hour employees at company B that aren't capable of turning themselves into $15/hour employees are likely to be replaced by people like me.

So what happens to employees at company A? You think company A isn't going to raise wages to reflect the fact that they need qualified workers but the job fucking sucks?

Westwood Village vs. White Center.
Shoreline vs North Seattle.
South Park vs Burien & Tukwila
Ranier vs Renton
NE Seattle vs Lake Forest Park.

No difference. Less jobs for more people from outside of town to compete for. Should be great. At least the displaced people in Seattle will have a reverse commute.

@19 So much for the large businesses with millions to locate their economies of scale in metro areas. But fuck the mom and pop.

@22. Mom & pop retail operations are dependent on local customers. I live near the NE border with Shoreline. I purposefully chose to stay living with Seattle but the rent was a little higher. None of the businesses I frequent chose their location because of the local regulations, but they did because customers are in Seattle. They aren't going anywhere and if they had to open again, they'd still be near their customers.

I have a friend who owns a high end home decor store, one that people get in their cars and travel to. It's downtown and if you asked him why he's there instead of some low-wage suburb he'd laugh at you.

Location independent low wage jobs aren't moving from Seattle to Lynnwood, they're moving to India.

@23: "Location independent low wage jobs aren't moving from Seattle to Lynnwood, they're moving to India."

This.

@24
Oh yes, because driving from North Seattle to Shoreline for dinner is just as easy as driving from North Seattle to India...

I would love someone to talk about PURCHASING POWER, not just wages, which really don't matter. If you make a wage it doesn't matter the amount of dollars, what matters is what those dollars will get you.
Anyway, if this passes, even if I don't lose my job (which I doubt will stick around) I'm moving my working class ass out of here and heading to Houston. My niece actually did something similar:
Her junior soccer league went from winners and loser to not keeping score and making "everyone a winner" (she lives in a town almost as liberal as Seattle) Even though she isn't that good she decided to go to a different league. Why? Because if you can't win on your own, what's the point of playing?
Same with money. Why should I let the government give me a raise? If I want 15/hour I'd rather earn it my damn self than have some butt scratching politician hand it to me.
So if this actually happens (and I still have serious doubts it will) I'll pack up and leave to Houston before Sawant decides to pass an ordinance banning people from moving from Seattle and Goldy and the Stranger crew supports it.

Oh...and could anyone explain why, despite lower wages, Houston has better purchasing power per capita than Seattle? What's the point of making more money if it doesn't go as far?
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/com…

Clearly @3's business that will attract the Seattle clientele to across the lake to Bellevue or up north to Shoreline is going to be a bikini coffee stand or a Risky Business-style party house. That's why the you'll all be heading to Bellevue or Shoreline.

I'm sure San Jose is just a much more affordable place to live in as Seattle if they can scrape by at $10/hr, right ? (hint - bigger number = less affordable)

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/cit…
Cost of Living in San Jose, CA, United States
Prices in San Jose, CA
Tweet
Index Info
Consumer Price Index (Excl.Rent): 87.56
Rent Index: 72.69
Groceries Index: 96.49
Restaurants Index: 76.39
Consumer Price Plus Rent Index: 80.36
Local Purchasing Power: 128.53

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/cit…
Cost of Living in Seattle, WA, United States
Prices in Seattle, WA
Index Info
Consumer Price Index (Excl.Rent): 92.01
Rent Index: 56.02
Groceries Index: 101.06
Restaurants Index: 82.17
Consumer Price Plus Rent Index: 74.58
Local Purchasing Power: 110.80

@28
EXACTLY! If minimum wage goes up, as it says in this very article Goldy posted, prices go up. If prices go up, than those minimum wage dollars wont get you as far as they used to.
It isn't about how much dollars they make but its about what those dollars will get you. If purchasing power is wiped out as a result of inflation created by raising the minimum wage, than you're right back to square one.

@20: Unless the company has the means to raise wages or can hire people who previously didn't work at all (Goldy's dream scenario), either they'll employ fewer people or the quality of employees will drop. Sad. The problem is that a minimum wage increase doesn't make labor more valuable, it just makes it more expensive. If all you're qualified to do is flip burgers or clean hotel rooms for $9.50/hour, you don't suddenly become qualified to become a $15/hour accounting clerk just because the city increases minimum wage to $15/hour ("luckily", crappy low-skill jobs still won't be in high demand at $15/hour)

@4 "@3 Likewise, quality employees will flee across the border to a higher wage Seattle, leaving non-Seattle businesses with less productive workers."
I'm sorry but- are you serious? Quality employees only? Seattle would become a magnet for the country's shittiest employees. Why would someone move to Seattle who is skilled and already making $15? It's the unskilled who make $8 who will move to- not Seattle- but to Renton in droves and then worsen traffic to commute to Seattle to flip burgers for double what they had made doing the same thing. No reason to aspire, one move and still no skills.