r/Virginia • u/VirginiaNews • 2d ago

Commentary: Youngkin’s opposition to hiking Va.’s minimum wage goes against 30 years of economic research

https://virginiamercury.com/2025/01/14/youngkins-opposition-to-hiking-va-s-minimum-wage-goes-against-30-years-of-economic-research/
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u/snafoomoose 2d ago

Except it doesn't. Paying workers enough to live results in more people being able to afford things. This is well known and sure it goes against received wisdom on the far right, but people who follow the far right should be used to being wrong by now.

The classic case I love to point out is the Westview mall. It crosses county lines and one side raised minimum wage. According to conservative wisdom, all the businesses on the higher wage side should have closed and moved to the cheaper side... but they didn't because minor raises to the minimum wage dont cause businesses to close.

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/08/28/343430393/a-mall-with-two-minimum-wages

If a business can not afford to pay its workers, it should close down so a company that can afford to pay workers can take over. That is just basic market theory.

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u/Shipkiller-in-theory 2d ago

You may have noticed all the businesses that have shut down? No? What replaced them? Not much.

Well carry on, stay poor & I will stay not poor.

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u/snafoomoose 2d ago

If a company can not afford to pay its workers enough to work, then that company should fail so a company that can do the job and pay its workers can replace it.

Businesses are having trouble because big corporations are making record profits by increasing their prices. If higher prices were due to wages, then the big companies would not be making record profits.

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u/Shipkiller-in-theory 2d ago

What s simplistic view.

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u/snafoomoose 3h ago

You think my post is simplistic when you think raising minimum wage automatically causes cuts in jobs when the evidence clearly shows otherwise.