The Alpha Dogs Blog

Yesterday, the House approved a $2.10 increase in the federal minimum wage - a move that has many small business owners fretting. My own opinion: it's been nine years since the last increase, folks, and it's about time we gave low-wage workers a raise. As for the argument that raising the minimum wage will put the squeeze on small businesses, I just don't buy it. Take a look at today's New York Times where there's a front page story that talks about Washington state's high minimum wage ($7.93) and how business owners feared its negative impact. As it turns out, higher wages had a positive effect on businesses since better pay frequently results in better retention and more highly engaged employees, which in turn fosters better service and customer loyalty. Sure, businesses often need to raise prices to finance higher wages but guess what? Consumers have more tolerance to price hikes than you think they do, particularly if you're giving them other reasons to do business with you. So I'm rooting for Senate approval, and while I'm hoping that small businesses also get some tax breaks in this bill, my support of the minimum wage increase is unequivocal. What about you?