Low-wage workers, many in the fast-food industry, join with supporters on April 15 in New York City for a “die-in” in front of a McDonald’s to demand a minimum wage of $15 an hour. (Spencer Platt, Getty Images)
Re: “Uproar, but no calamity on wages,” April 19 Lisa Wirthman column.
There are lies, damn lies, and coincidence recast as causation by progressives such as Lisa Wirthman. Food-service raises may cause employee prosperity; on the other hand, returning prosperity may cause food-service raises.
All this agnostic on the minimum wage issue asks is: How much is enough?
What is the true poverty level in any given state? Letap set that state’s minimum wage there, index it for inflation, and be done with it. But we must also stipulate some common sense in the conversation, to wit: employers cannot indefinitely pay employees more than they are worth; employers cannot guarantee a certain amount of customer traffic or spending, or employer profitability; so, wage mandates may cause outsourcing or mechanization of some jobs.
In short, we cannot mandate employee security at the expense of business viability.
Steve Baur, Westminster
This letter was published in the April 23 edition.
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