Opinion: Owners favor minimum wage hike

Editor’s note: Since publishing a Show-Me Institute column March 10 on the effects of raising the federal minimum wage, Washington, D.C.-based Small Business Majority released opinion poll results from small-business owners. This blog was posted March 11 to SmallBusinessMajority.org.

Debate about raising the minimum wage is a hot topic, and the impact to small businesses is a sticking point in the argument. But what do real small businesses think about raising the wage? A scientific opinion poll conducted Feb. 18–25 by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research on behalf of Small Business Majority found 57 percent support increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10.

Some have claimed that raising the minimum wage would strain small firms because they wouldn’t be able to afford to pay their workers more. However, more than half of small-business owners agree increasing the minimum wage would not only help the economy, it would make low-income consumers more likely to spend money, driving up demand for goods and services at small businesses.

What’s more, the poll found 82 percent of small businesses already pay their workers more than the minimum wage.

Consumer demand is small-business owners’ No. 1 concern, and they see a raise in the minimum wage as a way to stoke that demand. An increase would help entrepreneurs create jobs, which strengthens the economy even more, creating an economic domino effect. Small-business owners are the nation’s biggest job creators.

Politicians should listen to what they’re saying and act accordingly.

—Terry Gardiner, vice president of policy and strategy with the Small Business Majority