Restaurant Workers Projected to Suffer Under President Joe Biden’s $15 Minimum Wage Mandate

According to a report from The Hill, the restaurant industry is urging Congress to reject President Joe Biden’s $15 minimum wage proposal out of fears that a hasty wage boost during the pandemic would hurt restaurant workers rather than help them.

In a letter from the National Restaurant Association, Executive Vice President for Public Affairs Sean Kennedy argued that raising the minimum wage would “push more employees off payrolls, raise menu prices, and force more restaurants to close.” 

Kennedy also noted that eliminating the tip credit would be detrimental to millions of servers who rely on the current system to make $19-$25 an hour in tips. Ultimately, the overwhelming majority of restaurants say raising the wage would do more harm than good.

The Hill: “The National Restaurant Association conducted a survey that found that 82 percent of restaurant operations say the initial wage increase would negatively impact the ability of the restaurant to recover from the pandemic.”

The restaurant industry’s plea to Congress follows a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office revealing that a $15 minimum wage hike would eliminate 1.4 million jobs and spike prices for goods and services on American families.

CBO: “Higher wages would increase the cost to employers of producing goods and services. Employers would pass some of those increased costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices, and those higher prices, in turn, would lead consumers to purchase fewer goods and services. Employers would consequently produce fewer goods and services, and as a result, they would tend to reduce their employment of workers at all wage levels.”

Bottom line: Joe Biden’s $15 minimum wage proposal would wreak havoc on middle-class America and leave behind millions of restaurant workers who would be adversely affected by his radical, activist driven agenda.