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‘We Built This!’ Seattle Passes Small Business Relocation Incentive Plan
…and it was passed unanimously to universal acclaim, establishing a national formula for bold action against the war on income inequality:
“No city or state has gone this far. We go into uncharted territory,” said Seattle City Council member Sally Clark before the council agreed to give workers a 61 percent wage increase over what is already the country’s highest state minimum wage.
“We did this. Workers did this. Today’s first victory for 15 will inspire people all over the nation,” said Councilmember Kshama Sawant.
“Today we have taken action that will serve as a model for the rest of the nation to follow,” proclaimed Seattle Mayor Ed Murray to the delight of mayors across the county.
That would be King County, which will be the primary beneficiary of the likely flight of small businesses from Seattle’s 61 percent minimum wage increase. Certain location-specific businesses such as downtown eateries will be stuck, thus ironically negating the “free lunches for all” economic theory that undergirds the new ordinance. But many other small businesses will find it profitable to open shop outside the city limits, thus spreading the wealth to neighboring cities.
Seattle Times writer Jon Talton, while unambiguously supportive of the ordinance cautioned that it might not be enough:
It would be nice to think a city ordinance could stick it to The Man. But The Man is accustomed to certain profit margins and will seek to maintain them. He won’t sell a yacht to ensure that fry cooks get a better deal.
Unfortunately, American business does not quantify or value a social rate of return or a moral return on equity.
Where does such ignorance and vitriol come from? My theory is that progressivism has played itself out in Seattle—a victim of unmitigated success in bringing “progress” on certain leading edge social issues in recent years. Actual “progress” has surpassed progressive ideas. Seattle is now turning to the harder stuff.
Last November, Seattle tossed popular councilmember and two-term Council President Richard Conlin (best known for heroically outlawing plastic bags) and elected Socialist Alternative Party candidate Kshama Sawant, whose most prominent campaign promise was fulfilled yesterday.
Sawant’s solutions (judging from her rhetoric) for sticking it to The Man are more robust than her predecessor’s small-bore enviro-motivated policies. Those policies damaged businesses only collaterally. Sawant’s policies (as confirmed yesterday) take direct aim at the bourgeoisie.
And her quote (above) suggests boundless ambition.
Published in General
The as yet unscheduled Seattle Meet-Up is hereby cancelled.
I will be stealing this and giving no credit to you. Sorry.
I came across this today, thanks to Mr. Hemingway.
Thanks for posting the brief interview of a prominent restauranteur who outlines foreseeable unintended consequences from a first-person perspective.
The website also has a link to first-person accounts of employees working under Sea-Tac’s $15/hr minimum wage ordinance (which has already gone into effect).
As one who is a business-starter and builder (aka entrepreneur), if Clark, Sawant, Murray, Talton etc. all think starting and running a business is so easy, and that owners are over-compensated immoral anti-social creatures, they should try doing it themselves.
Oh no, that would be real work. Ignorant BS bloviating is much easier. It is the likes of Talton, et al who are the lazy, greedy, envious, covetous, immoral, thieving parasites who provide nothing of value to mankind. They can all go to h***.
Exactly!
I think Rico residents of Seattle have a civic duty to protest in favor of a $20 minimum wage NOW! Today!! Why delay justice??! $15 is borderline “living wage.” Who do these socialists on city council think they are, denying workers their fair share right now!!
If you’re going to have to live with government like this, you might as well out-absurd it. Could be fun, and would definitely show people the consequences of central planning up-close, personal and immediately.
Is $20/ hour really a living wage in a big city like Seattle? I bid $30!
Since the price of a Latte at the flagship Starbucks in Seattle will be going up, will this impact pricing for Ricochet?
Here’s a link to a letter Tom Douglas wrote in April which goes into greater detail (and in which he states his beliefs about McDonald’s and Wal Mart). Over all, Douglas is greatly respected in the community and nearly revered by the culinary world.
Wait! Wut? My latte’s gonna’ cost more?!
No, $20 an hour is not enough for rent, food, health insurance and vehicle expense! I propose we commission a study to determine the living wage in Seattle and then adjust minimum wage accordingly! It’s only fair!
Let the 1,ooo bad democratic/socialist ideas bloom (not where I live of course). Unfortunately the blue parts of the country are going to have to ruin themselves to understand why conservatives were right about the free market.
And even then they won’t. Intellectual arrogance precludes actually learning new lessons.
Probably not in Seattle though—not as long as consumers all over the world keep feeding the beast by using computer software, flying in big airplanes, and buying stuff from Amazon. Oh, and that coffee company…
good point.