SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif- The national minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour. In California, the minimum wage is $8 an hour. Democratic Senator Tom Harkin wants to make the federal standard $9.88 an hour. The bill has created a lot of mixed reactions. Some fear it would increase unemployment and hurt small businesses.
Mike White grew up in Boo Boo Records. 34 years ago he walked in as a young college student and today he runs the place. Its probably more of a home than his actual home and right now times are tough. "It's not like there's extra money laying around that you can put into employment or payroll, it would be very difficult," says White.
Down the street, Randy Adler, owner of Moondoggies, understands where Mike is coming from. He gets the push for higher minimum wage but said that means he may not be able to hire more people, especially high school kids in the summer. "If you bring that wage up a couple dollars then that definitely hampers maybe hiring activity," says Adler.
Adler said the problem is paying employees more, even though the same amount of revenue is coming in. Both Adler and White agree, they would like to pay more to their employees, it just isn't viable. "In theory I love the idea of people being paid more, it just would hit the small business person the hardest," says White.
Right now 18 states have set the minimum wage rates slightly higher than the national level. While 4 states have minimums lower than the national level.
