It seems like almost every day, we get news of another restaurant closing here in the Seattle area. In our region, many cities, led by Socialist Seattle, have above-market minimum wages, forcing restaurateurs to pay all of their employees, even tipped and part-time ones, over $20 per hour. Jobs like dish-washing and bussing tables aren’t actually worth that much (meaning the Market, left alone, would come up with a wage less than $20). So the Law of Supply and Demand works, and strapped employers have to reduce their staffing when they simply cannot afford to pay the high wages.
Around here, there are other costs that have steadily increased due to government actions, both at the state and local levels. Washington has a “gross receipts” tax, called the “Business and Occupation Tax,” that hits all businesses, profitable or not. This tax has variable rates, depending on the area of business, and those rates can change at any time by legislative action. This is a way for the Democrat-dominated legislature to reward friends, punish enemies, and fool with the state economy. Our legislature is economically illiterate, and they often make decisions that are detrimental to the health of their “piggy-bank” businesses. We have all seen the reactions to the new Income Tax already, before it is even implemented. Big and small firms are shuttering storefronts, and some are leaving the state, while the legislature has plans to squeeze them harder. Here’s another higher cost on the horizon.
Some local radio commentators are discussing the effects of the income tax and high wages on restaurants. Here are some excerpts from heir discussion.
Starbucks announced Thursday that it will close approximately 250 stores across North America this week, representing about 1% of its more than 18,000 locations. It’s the second major round of closures under CEO Brian Niccol, who shuttered 627 stores last year as part of his “Back to Starbucks” turnaround.
Closer to home, Arnie’s, the waterfront restaurant in Edmonds, permanently closed Sunday after 45 years. A partner told The Edmonds Beacon the current business climate does not allow them to continue. Arnie’s had already lost its Mukilteo location in 2023.
Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin, co-hosts of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, said the two stories are part of the same problem.
Gee said the closures are not a warning about the future; they’re the present.
“Can we all admit that things are different today?” Gee said. “Most of what everyone is doing is that they are preparing for what the world is going to look like in five to 10 years. GLP-1 is a real thing; people are eating less. The economy isn’t that great for the working class. Inflation is up, workers have to get paid more, and the cost of meat is up. We talk about how change is coming. Uh-uh. Change is right here, in real time.”
So everyone is aware, and businesses continue to shut down due to higher costs and no relief by the state on taxes. We are also aware that the Climate Commitment Act adds over a dollar per gallon of gas and diesel sold in the state, in service of the climate-change hoax. The legislature refuses to suspend the tax even for a day, so the $7 per gallon that diesel is right now increases the cost of everything we buy.
The Seattle real-estate market shows the effects of the higher costs on individuals too.
Both state legislators and the Seattle mayor have poo-pooed the idea that when costs rise, people change their behavior, indicating their advanced level of ignorance. Our area already has among the highest restaurant charges in the country, and it looks like those costs can only rise, with the government we have here. People with continue to vote with their feet, and in a death-spiral, government will never change their spending on Socialist projects that continue to enrich their NGO buddies, and squeeze the taxpayers. The worst part of it is that local voters keep electing Democrats who are the reason for higher costs.
This is true here.
