On Tuesday May 19th, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan that would increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour by the year 2020. Until then, there will be gradual wage increases over the next 5 years until the $15 will take effect in 2020. Proponents of the plan say that a wage increase like this one is absolutely essential in a city where the cost of living is so high. Speaking as someone who has been paying Westwood rent for the past year, I can’t say I disagree. According to many, $9 per hour, the current minimum wage, is simply not enough to be able to pay for rent and other basic necessities. Los Angeles is the largest city in the nation to adopt a groundbreaking policy like this one. People hope that the wage increase will help alleviate the amount of poverty that the city currently faces.
While many are very excited about the prospect of this new policy, others are not. Business owners in the area claim that the wage increases could seriously hurt businesses. By forcing employers to pay even more per employee, they may be unable to support the number of employees that they currently have and could need to lay off some of their staff to accommodate the mandate. Additionally, people have also stated that this could foster a hostile environment for business and could force businesses out of LA to other nearby locations causing even more job loss for the area. Only time will tell whether this bleak prediction is true, but let’s hope not for the sake of all of us soon-to-be graduates who are looking for stable jobs!
Due to the fact that LA is the largest city to try this option, nobody is really sure what the effects of this will be on the city. The idea of reducing poverty and helping people actually be able to live comfortable lives is one that most people are probably on board for, but will this gamble pay off? Hopefully, it will indeed be helpful to the city and its economy as opposed to a business-killer like some have been proposing. Here’s to hoping LA will thrive with this new policy!