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Comment by seti0Cha | Hacker News Reader

If labor is one of the primary expenses, and the profit margin is low, then increasing the cost of labor will drive the profit margin into the negatives. In other words, the man can't run a business that pays the level you think it should - it would go bankrupt. So what do you propose as a solution?

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Either charge more, or just don't? If people aren't willing to pay enough for something, to the point that it can't be done profitably without exploiting your workers, that's the market saying it doesn't deserve to get done.

For example, Applebees is on the ropes. People are unwilling to pay enough money for Applebees' food for the company to remain solvent. Does that mean Applebees has an ethical basis to use slave labor to keep their doors open? No! They should just go out of business.

They can't charge more because they are competing with others not affected by the overtime regulation. And at the current prices they aren't able to pay enough...at least not enough according to bystanders such as yourself, who seem to think it's better for them to lose their jobs than keep working at the rate they've been getting.

If applebees goes out of business, a vacancy opens. For a new business - ideally one that can pay its workers. Short term, sure it’s “bad” for businesses to close. Long term, as long as it’s not happening en-mass, it’s a good thing

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