Raising the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour is a reform which Democrats favored and rallied in support of for quite some time. As this new minimum wage is enacted in various states across the nation, working people are not having the positive experiences which they presumably anticipated.

Numerous Democrats steadfastly maintain that raising the minimum wage will help the working class. Minimum wage hikes are often presented as solutions to income inequality, poverty, and low wages. However, critics of the idealized $15.00 minimum wage have repeatedly affirmed the existence of subsequent free market adjustments.

The free market in New York is adjusting as business owners actively take steps to offset the costs of a higher minimum wage.

What's Happening to Businesses in New York?

Raising the minimum wage automatically hits business owners with greater expenses. This of course, doesn't bode well for many businesses. Therefore, entrepreneurs across the state are making their own moves.

Due to the $15.00 minimum wage, employees work less hours. Less hours with a higher wage automatically counteracts any potential economic gains. Certain working New Yorkers are even facing lay-offs and prohibitions from working overtime.

These changes are necessary for many business owners to stay afloat in the state of New York. Lido Restaurant owner Susannah Koteen notes the adverse impacts of a higher minimum wage.

"What it really forces you to do is make sure that nobody works more than 40 hours. You can only cut back so many people before the service starts to suffer."

McNally Jackson Books owner Sarah McNally also confirms that the $15.00 per hour minimum wage is hurting her business:

"With raising minimum wage to living wage, it feels now like we’re at the bottom of the pay spectrum. There’s absolutely no benefit to being a retail business in New York."

Harm to Small Businesses Across the State

Small businesses across New York face true harm in light of the $15.00 hour minimum wage. Many of these establishments are shutting down, something which takes jobs from communities and hurts the working class. In certain cases, the costs of higher minimum wages are counteracted by raising prices on customers. This, too, adversely affects the community of New York.