A well written and well informed article on the effects of a living minimum wage, as applied in Australia.
In the hospitality industry - front of house wages are largely subsidized by tips, and I for one prefer that model to others - it gives the customer a leeway and ability to contribute to the situation and keeps servers/bartenders actively interested in the quality of service. But for back of house positions, fast food, retail, this makes a lot of sense. And I remember so many customers at the old restaurant would argue against it.
I especially like the quote:
The principle that employees must be paid a "living wage" dates back to a 1907 decision of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, which stated that if an employer was unable to pay a living wage, it was not entitled to operate a business. A living wage was defined in the decision as being sufficient to permit an unskilled worker, a dependent spouse and three dependent children to live in "frugal comfort."
It makes sense. But in Alberta, wow, what a moral panic...