Fred Warchol: Businesses shouldn’t begrudge anyone a decent living

To hear hear some tell, a minimum wage of $15 an hour would collapse California’s economy. They say small businesses would go under and others would high-tail it out of the state. The California legislature recently approved a minimum wage increase that eventually reaches $15 an hour in 2020 for larger businesses and an additional year later for small businesses.

With death and taxes, it’s a certainty that living expenses will climb substantially in the next seven years. Those who would deny the working poor a decent wage should exempt them from cost of living increases. After all, it’s really unfair for workers to absorb increased food, rent and other expenses on a stagnant salary when businesses jack up their prices at even a hint of lower profits.

Those who work should be treated fairly. Yes, private enterprise creates jobs. However, those who do so at the expense of decent employee conpensation should have no right to exist. Early in our country’s history, fortunes were made harvesting cotton. Workers were paid nothing. President Lincoln put an end to that. There is nothing worse than slavery.

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Fred Warchol: Businesses shouldn’t begrudge anyone a decent living."