Im a small business owner...a wedding photographer who owns and operates a successful but modest business. I pay my assistants (those who are students or recent grads whose role is not to shoot but to carry gear and set up lighting) $25/hour and I pay my associate photographers (those who have demonstrable skills and can provide value not just to me but directly to my clients) $50/hour...both rates are WELL above the present minimum wage. To suggest raising the minimum wage from around $8/hour to $15/hour for those whose have no skills--high-school students whove never held a job, for instance--diminishes the value of the work I pay my assistants. Could I raise the fees I pay my assistants and associates nearly 100% more than I pay them now to keep in line with present rates? Sure...but doing so will impact my profits significantly, and after having spent nearly 20 years as a professional photographer, I believe my talents command a greater value than the hit I would take were I to boost my associates and assistants rates. I cannot raise my own rates to my clients by 100% as this will price me out of the market in which I exist. So, Mr. Reich, please explain to me how a 100% increase in the minimum wage is a good thing for small businesses.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Apr 2014 01:36:46 +0000
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