Cumulative costs drive employer decisions

The $15 minimum wage is an example of elected officials with tunnel vision passing sweeping legislation while ignoring the cumulative impacts of all of the other government mandates on employers.

They only zero-in on the costs and benefits of a single issue, such as the $15 an hour wage, when they ought to focus on all of the taxes, fees, regulations and laws.

Seattle’s ordinance took effect on April 1, 2015. It directs businesses with fewer than 500 employees to pay the $15 an hour wage starting in 2021. Employers with 500 or more employees (either in Seattle or nationally) will reach that le...