Denver, CO – Denver is making one crazy policy decision after another. Before we get into Denver’s new, job-killing minimum wage plan, check out our recap of other Denver news.
Here are some highlights of our previous coverage. Skip ahead if you want, we won’t be offended. First, readers may remember how Denver is paying for legal aid to criminals who are here in the United States illegally. This is taxpayer-funded, city-sponsored, and simply wrong.
Second, Denver is making traffic worse (like it can get any worse) by eliminating car lanes and parking spaces and replacing them with both bike and pedestrian lanes. They flat out don’t want you to drive your car into town. You can walk, take RTD, ride a bike, or rent a scooter, but you better not drive. They don’t care about when it snows or how this will hurt businesses downtown. But hey, maybe the surrounding areas will benefit from it.
Of course, Denver voters added insult to injury on transportation by passing Initiative 2A this year. This, of course (for those of you that don’t lean libertarian), was overshadowed by Denver voting to decriminalize magic mushrooms last Spring.
Then there’s the city budget that supports illegals, “fights” against climate change, and ultimately wastes taxpayer money.
Of course, the Denver City Council also terminated their contract with the contractor that operated their jail and detention facilities. This was done because the company also operates the ICE facility that saw protestors rip down the American Flag and replace it with a Mexican National Flag.
We can’t forget the carbon tax that will appear on the Denver ballot next year. This will raise taxes on utility bills for Denver homes and businesses exponentially and in perpetuity. Denver wants to be a green city, which means no businesses and humans obviously. Nobody will be able to operate or live there unless they’re the super-wealthy who don’t care about costs.
If you skipped ahead, start here
The above wrap-up brings us to today’s article – The Denver City Council finalized its minimum wage increase.
Colorado passed a significant minimum wage increase. Democrats complained it didn’t go far enough, but they knew something larger was a tough sell to voters. The ballot initiative capped the minimum wage at $12 in 2020. So, Democrats did their normal backdoor legislative change to allow local municipalities to pass their own. This is the result of the crazy left legislative session in 2019.
So, now the liberals on the Denver City Council are free to increase the local minimum wage. Just how high is the new minimum wage? It increases to $12.85 in 2020 (higher than the amount approved by voters in 2016), and almost $16 an hour in 2022. So in about two years, the minimum wage in Denver will increase by over 25%.
Let’s put this 25% increase into perspective. Most businesses cite labor as their most expensive cost. If costs increase by 25%, and businesses are unable to increase business by at least 25%, what’s the point in doing business?
Denver claims it’s protecting workers and giving them a living wage. What’s really going to happen is businesses will close up shop, move, or just disappear from Denver. Then the people who were promised better wages will simply be unemployed trapped in a more competitive job market.
Minimum wage increases hurt workers, plain and simple.
Needless to say, this is just bad news. Put aside any hope that Denver still cares about businesses or its residents.
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It’s easy to see how Denver treats businesses. Just look at the difference between say grocery stores in Denver vs. suburbs, car dealers (are any left in Denver?), etc. You can also compare prices in Denver vs. elsewhere and it shows it’s better to shop outside Denver. Oh yeah, and why does Denver have an income tax? Few cities do, so IMHO it should be eliminated.