Local businesses are making some adjustments as Washington prepares to increase the minimum wage in the new year.
Washington’s new minimum wage will be $16.66 an hour, almost a $0.40 an hour increase.
Dave Jones, owner of Spokane’s Ferguson’s Cafe, said he adjusts his prices every year to make sure they are just right.
“I raise my prices, but just a little bit, and hopefully not too much, and not too little. So, it’s one of those fine lines,” said Jones.
Jones said he has to balance being able to pay his eight employee without making his food overpriced.
“I just kind of look at it and go, ‘I think if I raise it up this much, I’ll be okay,'” said Jones.
This is the 8th year in a row that Washington has raised the minimum wage. It is now the state with the highest minimum wage.
The Washington State Department of Labor credits the increase to the rising cost of housing and food.
“The cost of living has gone up a lot since I first moved to Spokane ten years ago. It’s crazy. What I get for my rent now, versus what I got for the same amount back then, is really, really interesting,” said Erin Lang, who earns a minimum wage at Boots Bakery and Lounge in Spokane.
Lang said she works two jobs and is excited about the increase.
“I’m an artist, so it does really help me in that way, because I like to try to keep my hours as minimal as possible, so that I can do my own art,” she said.
Jones and other business owners said raising the minimum wage often just creates a cycle of constantly having to raise prices.
“There’s a lot of people that really need the money, but I don’t think it helps everybody, because what it does is just raise the prices,” said Jones.
Lang said the increases help just enough.
“It just kind of keeps us right on the cusp of being okay all the time. But I don’t know really what the solution to that is, honestly,” she said.
In comparison, Idaho’s minimum wage is $7.25.
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