PAY: Business voices should be heard, too
Matt Driscoll’s recent column (TNT, 7-23) on the Chamber of Commerce has all the ingredients of savory political scandal - fat-cat business owners and politicos colluding to stick it to the working class. The only problem is this story has no arc.
What’s missing is context. The Tacoma-Pierce Chamber of Commerce represents a vast array of businesses large and small, corporate and nonprofit (including my own small enterprise with a payroll of two - myself and my wife). This is an organization of doers and dreamers, risk-takers and conservatives. They strive to succeed and sign the paychecks.
That’s why the Chamber looms large in the discussion over an immediate increase in the minimum wage to $15. The goal is to remove the rhetoric and discuss facts. As recently pointed out in a News Tribune editorial (TNT, 7-26), economists have disputed the positive effects of a $15 minimum, which would undoubtedly lead to layoffs and reshuffled work hours. Other means, such as tax credits, would be more effective at bridging the widening wage gap.
The private sector is a vibrant arena, a reality the members of the Chamber of Commerce understand all too well. Their united voices deserve to be heard by Tacoma’s elected officials.
This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 3:57 PM with the headline "PAY: Business voices should be heard, too."