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Part of the challenge is that business owners/ conservatives/ libertarians like to frame such mandated increases as "putting unfair pressure on small businesses" and "increasing costs to make things untenable"...

When the reality is that this, and every other minimum wage increase in history is woefully out of date (they've been enjoying the benefits of it for years), woefully inadequate, or both.

If your business can't cope with an expected increase (TO parity, or in the direction thereof, lets not forget), that is entirely predictable, often years in advance, the flip side of the libertarian coin is that neither the government or its people owe you a business model or subsidies thereto (direct or indirect).

And when the anger is at businesses who report increasing nine and ten digit _profits_ and claim poverty when called on discontinuing benefits, I don't think that anger is unfounded.

> Instead of a minimum wage, we should have government programs provide benefits to the working poor and single parents earning less than living wages. Without giving a dime to yuppie kids and yuppie spouses. That would make the job market far more robust and open, easier for everyone to find work, while doing far more to help the people we should be trying to help, all at a much lower overall cost.

I agree, and recognizing that this is in Canada, not the US... "Good luck with that". Propose a universal income or an increase in government benefits to the poor and disenfranchised and watch many political heads explode.

The issue is that businesses like TIm Hortons do not have $14/hour to pay their employee. They do not have 5$/hour. They have ">0$/hour is too much". In a modern world where young people cannot get good jobs, there is no "job market" anymore for these industries. Whatever the shitty conditions they offer, someone will take it.

That's where the minimum wage comes into account...

stick it in your ear. This is the rich owners of a particular Tim Hortons franchise, who are the heirs to the billion dollar Tim Horton fortune, being petty.

Maybe, but these are people who also voluntarily gave benefits in excess of minimum wage before it was raised.

Clearly the change increases their costs and lowers their profitablity. Whether they are billionaires doesn’t matter, it’s a business, not a charity. It’s easy to tell others they don’t need to make as much money, how would you feel if told the same?

Why the fuck should my tax dollars go to fund your greed?

If your business can't succeed while paying people a living wage then you're business doesn't deserve to survive.

How much per hour should a business pay a 19 year old single person working who lives for free in their parents upper middle home?

How much should the business pay the single mom working full time in the same job to support two children?

Which one does the business layoff when your minimum wage makes them cut expenses?

You don't believe in equal pay for equal work?

You believe in ageism?

Nope, but i recognize that minimum wage leads to job cuts that can be discriminatory. And that employers tend to retain their most attractive workers (younger, better educated, upper class) and cut their least attractive (uneducated, older).

The perception is the kid living with his parents can work any hours or schedule, and might get a college degree, and manage the store someday. And that middle aged single mom who has to leave early constantly for childcare ain’t likely to ever get more valuable.