Washington State already has the second-highest minimum wage in the country “thanks” to the labor unions bosses who paid for a citizen initiative in 1998. Since then, our state’s minimum wage has risen with the cost of living, and is now $9.47 – or more than 30% above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
Now another collection of labor bosses – along with $1 million-dollar donor and liberal Seattle gadfly Nick Hanauer – has raised more than $4 million to try and buy another election. This year’s effort, Initiative 1433, would raise the minimum wage in our state to $13.50 in three years, and provide additional employee sick-leave benefits.
As the Seattle Times writes, the initiative would start to catch the rest of the state up to Seattle’s plans to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. However, as an opponent to I-1433 accurately points out, “the economy of the state, she said, ‘is not Seattle. There’s not a big boom’ everywhere in the state.”
Actual business owners are even less enthused by union plans to make their lives harder. As on Pullman restaurant owner admits, “ ‘It would be a very big financial hit’ on her business if I-1433 passes… ‘The initiative is a blunt tool. There’s no way to fine-tune it,’ to account for different circumstances in rural Washington, or struggling areas outside of King County.
That economic reality doesn’t matter to the union bosses paying for the initiative. To them, this is just another way to raise union salaries, as their demands will go up as the lowest wages rise. On the other side, “several business groups oppose the initiative, saying that while Seattle’s booming economy can support a high minimum wage, the rest of the state isn’t faring so well. Boosting the minimum wage in those areas could lead to higher prices and cuts in jobs and work hours.”
Now it will up to voters to decide whether our state’s economy can handle another union-sponsored jolt.
If only the rest of the state had Seattle’s booming economy! Perhaps they need to adopt Seattle’s economic policies — like, say, a higher minimum wage?
(The “statewide” objection was made against I-688, too. It didn’t work then, and there’s no reason to believe it will work now.)
That’s so stupid it can only be made by a dyed in the wool libtwit moron… just like you, tensie.
(What, that we enacted I-688 by a 2:1 margin — with *exactly* these same arguments against it?)
What’s your explanation for Seattle having a better economy than the rest of the state?
More stupid commentary from a libtwit. How do towns like say Quincy, Washtucna, Pomeroy, Othello, Omak, Colfax, Forks, Raymond, Ilwaco, etc. adopt an economic model like Seattle, you moron?
Yeah, it’s not like software development can be done just anywhere.
Now, answer my question: What’s your explanation for Seattle having a better economy than the rest of the state?
First of all, you have to show by means of unbiased analysis and objective evidence that Seattle’s economy is actually better than the rest of the state by a number of appropriate parameters.
Second, I’m not willing to just take your unreliable word for it.
Clay — since you totally missed it, the entire premise of this post (starting with the headline!) is completely based upon the statement:
… an opponent to I-1433 accurately points out, “the economy of the state, she said, ‘is not Seattle. There’s not a big boom’ everywhere in the state.”
So, if you have a problem with that claim, please complain to Shift.
Yeah, it’s not like Bill Gates and Paul Allen can grow up just anywhere
Microsoft was founded in which state, genius?
New Mexico has a $15 minimum wage, moron?
No, just pointing out that Microsoft wasn’t founded here, but did grow into a big company here.
Why, it’s almost as if the liberal Seattle area is a great place for businesses to grow! (But I don’t expect someone who plays with crayons to know this.)
Perhaps you can point out the “sweetheart” lease or other corrupt Seattle government policy of picking winners and losers that led to Microsoft relocating to Redmond.
Why, it’s almost as if the liberal Seattle area is a great place for businesses to move their headquarters away from after many decades! (But we would expect you liberal fools to downplay this while taking credit for others unrelated successes.)
…corrupt Seattle government policy…
So, making blatantly false accusations about then-Mayor Schell, who is no longer alive to defend himself, satisfies the upper limits of your personal integrity and courage, eh? Too bad it doesn’t make you any less wrong about how Amazon became a big company: a large and timely subsidy from Seattle’s ultra-liberal taxpayers.
…businesses to move their headquarters away from after many decades!
If the tattered, pathetic remains of your argument is based upon the idea that Seattle didn’t provide a healthy environment for The Boeing Company to grow, then you’ve really left me with nothing more to do here.
So, Attempting to shift all the blame for all of Seattle’s corrupt government policies onto the dead guy satisfies the upper limits of your integrity. That’s very (D) Democratic of you. Unfortunately for comrade (D) deflection, you still haven’t identified the “sweetheart” lease or other corrupt cronyism liberal Seattle policy which led Microsoft to relocate to Redmond. Does it have anything to do with Paul “Cornerstone” Schell (D)? Not a whiff of corruption there, comrade.
Apparently if a company succeeds, it’s all due to liberal economic policies (corruption, cronyism, picking winners and losers) but if a local giant moves their headquarters away after many decades, it’s totally unrelated to the same policies. Only from a liberal Democrat.
“you’ve really left me with nothing more to do here”
Good. leave then. Nobody will miss comrade Democrat (D) in the slightest bit.
.
If you have any evidence Mayor Schell’s deal with Amazon was “corrupt,” please present it. While we both know you can’t ever tell the difference between your ignorant opinions and real, documented facts, I had hoped you were above attacking a dead man with accusations so groundless, they were publicly disproven long ago. I was wrong. (You may now bask in the triumphant glow of finally having shown a liberal was wrong about something!)
…haven’t identified the “sweetheart” lease or other corrupt cronyism liberal Seattle policy which led Microsoft to relocate to Redmond.
If you find evidence of one, let us know. Meanwhile, you’re left with the reality that liberal King County, including Seattle, is a great place to turn small, cutting-edge firms into world-beating competitors.
(Oh, and most of Boeing’s work force is still here, and Chicago is not exactly a small, conservative town. Just so you know.)
“If you have any evidence Mayor “Cornerstone” Schell’s (D) deal with Amazon was “corrupt,” please present it”
Why don’t you present a list of the other companies that were offered the same “sweetheart” lease? That would make it seem a little less like corrupt cronyism. Alas, there is no such list, seeing as how the major liberal economic policy of picking winners and losers doesn’t allow for that many “sweethearts”
“I was totally wrong”
After all, it’s a day that ends in “y”
“plenty of evidence that liberal King County, including Seattle, has for decades been a great place for entrepreneurs of small, cutting-edge tech’ firms to grow their ideas into world-beating companies”
Too bad that out of all this evidence, you’re utterly incapable of citing even a single liberal economic policy that brought this prosperity about. It’s almost like the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
“Oh, and most of Boeing’s work force is still right here”
Sure, they just have skeleton crews to keep the lights on in South Carolina, Wichita, Long Beach and many other locations, and that must be why Boeing finds it less expensive to manufacture 737 fuselages in Wichita, ship them thousands of miles on specialized train cars to the Renton assembly plant and then send the train back EMPTY for the next load. It just has to be King County’s liberal economic policies (which you can’t point to a single specific one) that makes that pencil out.
“Chicago is not exactly a small, conservative town. Just so you know”
Chicago is also not exactly Seattle, where Boeing was founded and grew into a giant Just so you know. Albuquerque is also not exactly Redmond. Just so you know.
Why don’t you present a list of the other companies that were offered the same “sweetheart” lease?
Too bad that out of all this evidence, you’re utterly incapable of citing even a single liberal economic policy that brought this prosperity about.
I’m going to let you two fight that out amongst yourselves. Good luck with that.
Your two functioning brain cells must have really had a battle royal to come up with that witty comeback, comrade context (D). You didn’t need to confirm that there were no other companies offered the same corrupt crony “sweetheart” lease by Paul “Cornerstone” Schell (D), and that corruption and cronyism are the only two liberal economic policies that work, everybody already knows.
Still yammering about corruption you can’t show existed, hm? Well, at least attacking a man who is no longer alive to defend himself remains proudly your most courageous style.
Seattle provided a growing business with low-rent office space in a good location. Ten years later, that same business had grown and grown and grown to dominate its business sector, and has since built a huge new corporate campus in Seattle, employing thousands of well-paid, highly-skilled workers, which has helped to re-vitalize a local neighborhood.
Seattle’s liberal policy makers made a very wise investment in a local business, and we citizens of Seattle are now reaping the benefits of that civic investment. You’re free to continue exhibiting your angry and bitter refusal to recognize those facts; nobody cares.
Amazon, Microsoft and the related businesses who are here to be close to them. I’ll translate it into crayon for an economic half-wit like yourself: Seattle’s economy continues to boom DESPITE liberal economic policies, not BECAUSE of them.
Seattle’s economy continues to boom DESPITE liberal economic policies, not BECAUSE of them.
At your repeated request, we’ve already seen how Seattle’s taxpayers provided low-rent expansion room to Amazon during a crucial phase of that company’s growth. (Really, if you’re going to demand other people do your learning for you, the least you can do is retain it for a few weeks.)
But if you just keep shouting your Party’s line over and over and over and over, right into the face of all of the evidence, it will magically become Truth, right?