Progressives Say Good Riddance to Businesses Who Can’t Afford a $15 Minimum Wage

Certain progressives are becoming increasingly cavalier about the economic consequences of raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.

“They shouldn’t be doing it by paying low wages. We don’t want low-wage businesses,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D–Calif.) said on CNN earlier this week when asked about whether hard-pressed small businesses would be able to absorb the mandated pay hike. “I think $15 is very reasonable in this country.”

Khanna’s seemingly blasé acknowledgment that the Democrats’ minimum wage proposal would force some small businesses to shut down sparked immediate criticism from conservatives. Khanna later clarified his remarks on Twitter by saying he thought a $15 an hour federal minimum wage would be good for both workers and employers.

We can pay workers a living wage AND have small businesses thrive, including in rural. Putting more money in people’s pockets means they spend more in local communities. You can be pro worker and pro small business. That’s what most small business owners I meet believe.

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) February 22, 2021

Nevertheless, other left-wing commenters approvingly tweeted out Khanna’s original remarks, saying that forcing businesses who can’t afford the new higher minimum wage to close would be a good thing.

Ro Khanna effectively makes the case that if a business is predicated on paying workers starvation wages, then that business should not be considered a viable enterprise. https://t.co/3f5z8T6KbJ

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) February 22, 2021

A while back I was on radio talking about why all workers deserve paid vacation. The host asked about small businesses that couldn’t afford to pay for it. I replied, “if you can’t afford vacation pay, you don’t have a viable business model.” The host was stunned into silence. https://t.co/OXsVxytrKO

— Helaine Olen (@helaineolen) February 22, 2021

 

That’s a callous attitude to take t