Upon hearing that state lawmakers had passed an increase to the minimum wage June 17, Ryan Peters, co-owner of RISE Fitness+Adventure in Rehoboth Beach, was delighted. At the same time, local business leaders are thrilled that more money is moving into the wallets of employees and hoping they spend big at area companies, bolstering bonds between shops and consumers. “Ultimately, these people need more discretionary income, … (and they) don’t necessarily need to work three or four jobs just to make ends meet and put food on the table,” he said. “(This bill) gives people the ability to earn a living and keep that money within the community … without worrying about if they’re going to be able to make their car payment or rent.”
- Why should small business owners get away with not paying fair and livable wages? You can't pay up? Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and do the work yourself. — Frank Williamson\
- Who decides what a “livable wage” is? Looks like the people making minimum wage are still living. — Steve Durnan
- That happened about five years or so ago when my job made minimum wage $16 an hour. At the time I was making $16.10 an hour and I had been at company 10 years. It was tough. — Mandi Mendoza
- Yeah, business owners love paying more for skills like sweeping or putting frozen French fries in hot grease. — Kelly Lord
- Business owners could do something crazy, like do it themselves . — Frank Williamson
- Hope they capitalize quickly before rent and the rest of inflation eat it up. — Jake Phil
- McDonald’s in Dover reopens lobby with new automated ordering kiosks. — Bob Hice
- Someone has to build and maintain the computers. — William Mazzariello
- It won't be kids in high school trying to make a few bucks. That job goes to an educated/trained professional who will end up making $15 an hour. — Bob Hice
- It won't be people making minimum wage. And it won't cost them 24 hours of pay a day. — Steve Durnan
- It is always going to be a balance for the need to maximize efficiency and keep human contact. The first time a computer goes down, someone needs to make a call, someone needs to answer the call and route the repair, and someone needs to man the drive-thru so the repairman can stop for his coffee/lunch. — William Mazzariello
