Annoying editorial

The local excuse for a newspaper here on the NCR published an annoyingly predictable editorial on Sunday regarding the Cuomo administration's proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15.00/hr. over the next 5 years.  Naturally, the paper came out against the increase.  After all, most of the paper's advertisers are businesses liable to be impacted by the policy.  While there are a few who would favor a higher minimum wage, the overwhelming majority of businesspeople would reject any increase out of hand and bleat about the impossibility of remaining in business with the increased costs.  That was the only argument the paper had.  Since the first business transaction in history, businesses have tried to maximize their bottom line and for most small businesses, the largest expense is labor.   Regardless of the many studies which have shown negligible impacts from raising minimum wages, count on business to oppose any increase.  In this area, local, state and federal governments are actually subsidizing business by enabling many workers to accept low wages.   These subsidies include food stamps, rent subsidies and other safety net programs which were originally designed to cushion the impact of job loss for a short period.  Now workers and employers have come to depend on these crutches to make ends meet.  Maybe it's time to make business stand or fall based on their actual value and contribution to society.   If they can't pay employees a wage which enables them to live a life of dignity, they don't deserve our support.