Goodspaceguy attended a July 14 port commission meeting to declare his opposition to the minimum wage.
Goodspaceguy attended a July 14 port commission meeting to declare his opposition to the minimum wage. Port of Seattle

When port commission candidate Goodspaceguy responded this morning to my request for comment on the Washington State Supreme Court's historic decision yesterday to uphold SeaTac's $15 ordinance, he told me that my e-mail was the first time he'd heard the news.

The court's decision is huge for airport workers. After a two-year battle with Alaska Airlines and the Washington Restaurant Association, airport workers can now access the same labor rights as everyone else in the city of SeaTac.

But Goodspaceguy, who is running against incumbent Courtney Gregoire, thinks the SeaTac minimum wage is "terrible" and a "disaster for our economy." More than 23,000 people in King County voted Goodspaceguy into the general election.

"The minimum wage is so destructive, so harmful to people's lives, so when that happens it's bad news," Goodspaceguy said.

Goodspaceguy has described himself as the "capitalist" of the race for Port Commission No. 2. Though in years past he's run for local elections on a space colonization platform, this year he's running as an evangelist for Adam Smith's invisible hand. On July 14, Goodspaceguy even attended a port commission meeting to declare his opposition to any minimum wage.

On the phone, Goodspaceguy explained more:

Each person has their market value. The minimum wage is frequently above the market value, so disadvantaged workers, people who have various handicaps, perhaps are very old, have some mental problems, they can't get work because the minimum wage forbids people from working at their market value. The minimum wage throws disadvantaged people out of the workforce. What are they going to do for money? Some of them turn to crime, so crime will go up. Some of them will become homeless, because they can't pay for housing.

What about the airport workers who are celebrating the court decision? And what about the people who work multiple jobs earning minimum wage and still can't afford to pay for housing?

"When it comes to how you live at your market rate, I am an expert [on how] to live at the market rate," Goodspaceguy said. "People who find themselves on a budget who are single, they may find shared housing to be more affordable. There are always tricks like that to make it easier to live at your market value."

Maybe something to think about.