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I don't think ramping up to a $15 minimum wage is going to be a practical or effective economic stimulus for small family businesses in rural upstate NY, but that's what they're going to get thanks to their urban compatriots who know better[1].

[1] http://www.syracuse.com/state/index.ssf/2016/02/poll_two-thi...

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In fact this is the perfect illustration of how the non-rich are manipulated into supporting the policies of the rich. Lots of people oppose the minimum wage increase on the basis of its impact on small businesses, but the reality is that small businesses have their margins squeezed to zero by their landlords, who raise rents as high as the market can bear. When the government sets a minimum wage they are effectively defining a non-negotiable boundary around the rent-wage-profit function for businesses. Business owners might be willing to pay higher rents and lower wages, but the minimum wage prevents them from doing this. This is better for workers (who get paid more), better for the economy at large because it puts money in motion (minimum wage earners spend 100% of their earnings and save nothing), neutral for the small business owners whose margins were already minimized, and worse for landlords. The only people who should be opposed to this are landlords, but they succeed in manipulating many others over to their side.

This is a perfect example of how a smug person simply hand waves away any counter arguments by using personal attacks (in this case claiming that OP is being manipulated), followed by the smug person declaring "Why won't these stupid people just realize that I am smarter than them and have it all figured out!"

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