Minimum Wage Hike: D.C. restaurants closing at record pace as council vote looms

[rcjordan]

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jul/24/dc-restaurants-closing-record-pace-council-vote-looms/

[ergophobe]

Which always raises the question for me: if a business can't charge enough to pay a living wage, should it stay in business?

[rcjordan]

/r & bsky users answer with a resounding "NO!!" ^{(until their favorite business closes)}

[ergophobe]

Yes, just like they always say they prefer to buy American until they see the price.

But honestly, people just eat out way way too much. When I was a kid, it was a very rare thing. Special occasions. A big deal if my dad brought home pizza (and we were solidly middle class, not at all a deprived childhood).

People have gotten too used to things being cheap because people are paid crap.

I think this came to a head during a big snow storm when people from SF and Sac with second homes in Truckee-Tahoe area (so think second homes worth as a general rule $2m and up) where screaming "Extortion!" because exhausted snow shovelers were asking $100/hour. They found this completely unreasonable. Meanwhile, when we had to hire a water lawyer from Sac, he charged $450/hour, which apparently is not extortion and completely reasonable and he didn't even have to touch a shovel.

[Brad]

And this ties in with tipping culture.  When I was a kid in the Midwest a 10% tip for good service was rock solid in suburban and rural areas. In downtown CHicago, maybe 15%.  Now tips are larger and everyone has a tip jar out because wages have not kept up.

[ergophobe]

>>  because wages have not kept up

Also, for business owners, *undeclared* tips are a boon. They don't pay FICA, unemployment insurance, and so forth on those. So if they shift compensation from wages to tips, they win.

The big win, of course, is price obfuscation.