For all their ideological talk, liberals are not big believers in the market-place of ideas—in fact, they appear quite hostile to the concept. The non-existent debate over implementing a $15 minimum wage in Seattle provides clear insight into this liberal attribute.
With a Democrat Mayor set on it and a Democrat City Council sympathetic to it, Seattle is almost certainly headed for a $15 city-wide minimum wage. The News Tribune,
“The principles are fuzzy. Here’s what’s clear: The mayor and most members of his committee want to get to a $15 citywide minimum wage quickly, they want it to affect everyone and they will create a new enforcement system to assure compliance.”
Just how a $15 minimum wage will take shape remains to be determined,
“Does $15 include tips and other benefits? How small is a small business? How long a phase-in? What’s enforcement entail?”
Seattle Democrats’ primary voice of “opposition” comes from Socialist City Councilmember Kshama Sawant…. who has the exact same stance on the issue as the majority. She wants a $15 minimum wage and is opposed to the inclusion of tips. The difference is that Sawant’s patience is wearing thin. Believing they have waited long enough (it’s been less than 4 months), Sawant and her socialist following have begun gathering signatures to place the issue on the ballot as an initiative.
Any voices of actual opposition—and reason—have been shut-down. Seattle liberals do not welcome differing opinions and frown on rational, two-sided debates. The News Tribune,
“To study the effects, the city hired a prominent labor economist who supports raising the wage. The mayor’s minimum wage symposium resembled a campus teach-in, with proselytization disguised as education. No skeptical economists were invited to participate. Nothing was permitted to disrupt the narrative.
Yet, economists generally agree that raising the minimum wage leads to downsizing and slower hiring… It’s a worthwhile debate, one the city has largely bypassed as officials attempt to fine-tune negotiations leading them to their pre-ordained destination.”
Seattle Democrats continue to prove the true ideological beliefs of the left. Liberals do not value the market-place of ideas, they don’t care for debate and deliberation. Their close-minded, one-sided mind-set promotes rash actions—like passing laws without first reading them. Liberals’ careless style of leadership eventually shapes thoughtless economic agendas like the random notion of a $15 minimum wage.
Unfortunately, liberals in Seattle are without opposition and without a voice of reason. They have free reign to implement regulations and policies that place burdensome restraints on Seattle’s economic growth for years come.
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