Gotta hand it to my former KIRO radio colleague Dori Monson—he’s never so sure of himself as when he’s absolutely wrong:
Seattle restaurants are closing because of the coming of $15 an hour. … Seattle Magazine had a story about this. Queen Anne’s Grub restaurant closed Feb. 14. Pioneer Square’s Little Uncle shut down Feb. 25. The Boat Street Cafe will close May 30.
The restaurant owners said certainly there are a lot of reasons, but they said that $15 an hour is a major factor in all of this.
Uh-huh. Except, if Dori had actually read the Seattle Magazine piece, he’d know that not a single one of these owners mentioned the minimum wage as a contributing factor toward their restaurant’s closure. Grub’s owner sold out to pursue “future opportunities in this wonderful industry;” a new restaurant will open in its place. Boat Street Cafe’s owner is closing to focus on her three other restaurants and the two new ones she’s opening, while the neighboring Boat Street Kitchen expands into the cafe’s space. And Little Uncle’s owners say they closed because their “Pioneer Square location ultimately does not fit into the goals of our professional life and personal life,”—and are planning to reopen in a new location.
“We did not close our Pioneer Square location due to the new minimum wage,” Little Uncle’s Poncharee Kounpungchart told PubliCola.
“That’s weird, ha. No, that’s not why I’m closing Boat Street,” owner Renee Erickson told the Seattle Times when asked if her closure had anything to do with the minimum wage. (Yay, Bethany!)
So why isn’t Seattle’s $15 minimum wage a factor? It could be because it hasn’t happened yet! Also, the first step of the phase-in will have very little impact on these restaurants’ bottom line.
Starting April 1, small businesses (and these are all small businesses) will be required to pay tipped workers a minimum wage of $10 an hour. But Washington State’s minimum wage is already $9.47 an hour, so that’s not much of a raise. The ordinance requires a “minimum compensation” of $11 an hour—wage plus tips plus benefits—but most back of house staff at full service restaurants in Seattle already earn more than that. Maybe a few dishwashers will get a small raise. This isn’t restaurant armageddon.
In fact, restaurants close all the time—about 17 percent a year in Washington State, according to the article Dori cited, but obviously didn’t bother to read. And there is no evidence that Seattle restaurants are closing any faster than they normally do.
In any case, correlation doesn’t equal causation. So why Dori, who denies climate science, would find a handful of restaurant closures to be irrefutable proof of the “real world consequences” of a higher minimum wage, seems strange. Unless, of course, Dori couldn’t actually give a shit about the truth.
Dori Munson: Sean Hannity in Columbia Sportswear
“So why Dori, who denies climate science, would find a handful of restaurant closures to be irrefutable proof of the “real world consequences” of a higher minimum wage, seems strange.”
Because conservatives don’t give a damn about facts. To them, facts are just a hindrance to be swept out of the way.
The appropriate answer to the “We can’t stay in business” whine should be, “Go the fuck out of business.” What they are really saying is that they are enjoying the benefits of neo-slavery, where they get an honest days work for a dishonest wage. They should raise their prices to cover an honest wage, and see if the public will pay it. If the public won’t pay, then out of business they go. Great!
I think we could make the $15/hour wage happen sooner by forgetting about legislation and simply patronizing businesses that pay it. Every business should advertise that it pays a minimum of $15/hour. They could have stickers on their doors that say so. They’d be outed quickly if they lied about it.
It wouldn’t matter if only 10% of their patrons stopped using their services or products. A 10% cut in their gross would likely be worse than paying $15/hour.
Typical Republican lying fuck.
Dori is a cheap labor republican so of course he is lying.
Dori also believes that the homeless population is increasing exponentially because of legal pot. Because people who can’t afford to put a roof over their heads are flocking here to buy legal pot at $24.00 a gram.
He is an abomination on the Seahawk broadcasts.
Jerk knows as much about football as he does anything else…e.i. NOTHING.
Jeb Bush attacks minimum wage, says leave it too the private sector. As his party seeks to put an end collective bargaining and worker rights.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/201.....te-sector/
Dori Monson doesn’t give a shit about anything…except Dori Monson. Everyone else is just collateral damage. His listeners included.
Well well, lookee here, even the Republican Times’ Bullshit Meter is exploding:
“Truth Needle: Is $15 wage dooming Seattle restaurants? Owners say no”
“Conservative pundits say recent Seattle restaurant closures may have been linked to the city’s new $15 minimum wage. We find that claim to be false.”
“The claim: Recent Seattle restaurant closures may have been linked to the city’s new $15 minimum wage.
“What we found: False.
“An article suggesting the $15-an-hour minimum wage was a factor in some recent Seattle restaurant closures caught fire with national and conservative media this week. The only problem: When we asked the restaurateurs in question, they said it’s flat wrong.”
And so on; you can read the rest here:
http://www.seattletimes.com/se.....rs-say-no/
Apparently, according to this article, even Rush Limbaugh got in the act. But then, when was he ever right about anything?
@6 Back in 1970, in Vietnam, the troops could buy a joint for 5 cents. Beer was 25 cents. It was cheaper to get stoned than drunk.
@8 It effectively has been left to the private sector. Just try hiring someone for $7.25 an hour in any state where that’s legal, and see how many takers you get. Even the bosses of WalMart, the cheapest cheap-labor conservatives of them all, have figured out they can’t get away with paying less than $10 by next January.
Dori who?
Both sides (Dori & Goldy) use argument by anecdote, which is an argument tool used by ideologues (which Dori & Goldy both are) citing any example that supports their ideology and ignoring evidence to the contrary. A couple restaurants closing doesn’t “prove” the economic sky is falling, neither does a new restaurant opening or hotel being expanded prove this min wage won’t harm, or hinder business and it’s employees. The $15 min wage isn’t the economic apocalypse conservative ideologues make it out to be, but it also won’t come without any negative consequences (lay offs & increased inflation) like liberal ideologues pretend.
@14 Nice stab at false equivalency. I did not make an argument by anecdote, I merely refuted Dori’s argument. I cited the absence of evidence.
@15 You’re not the only one citing absence of evidence today:
“A federal judge has rejected a request from franchises to temporarily prevent part of Seattle’s minimum-wage law from taking effect next month …. [H]e wrote, ‘there is simply no credible evidence in the record that indicates franchisees will close up shop or reduce operations, or that new franchisees will not open up in Seattle.'”
http://www.seattletimes.com/bu.....-wage-law/
When even the Seattle Times wrings this turkey’s neck, you know what’s for dinner.
Gawd! Is Dori still a thing?
The poorly-written article in Seattle Magazine — which actually describes more restaurant openings than closings! — has now become “proof” to the country’s wingnuts that a $15/hour minimum wage kills jobs. (Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if wingnuts nationwide now claim everyone here in Seattle is starving to death.)
On an earlier open thread, Carl linked to a post in Lawyers, Guns & Money which has a great takedown of all of this nonsense, and it’s well worth a read.