Body and Soul

Seattle is a hardcore, progressive blue city. They’ve had a demorat mayor in office since 1969. The consistently vote for progressive, ultra-left council members that once included the socialist Kshama Sawant.

Seattle’s fight to increase the minimum wage dates back to 2014 with the “Fight for $15” movement. Many residents approved of the increase that resulted in Seattle having the highest minimum wage of any major city in the United States.

Fast forward ten years: After four years of “Bidenomics” and several years of crushing Wuhan virus restrictions set by Governor Inslee, Seattleites are now singing a different tune with a new minimum wage of $20.76 per hour.

The result: Many Seattle residents vow to quit tipping restaurant working staff in the new year.

From MyNorthwest:

“As Seattle ushers in the new year, a growing number of residents are pledging to stop tipping much or even altogether. This movement, gaining traction on Reddit, is a direct response to the city’s escalating minimum wage, which will rise to $20.76 an hour in 2025, up from $19.97 in 2024. Reddit Seattle has been buzzing on the topic of tipping. With Seattle now boasting one of the highest minimum wages in the nation, many in Seattle question the necessity of tipping on top of already substantial wages, especially in the context of escalating prices in restaurants and retail. 

The city’s minimum wage ordinance, which mandates annual increases based on inflation, was supposedly designed to ensure a “living wage” for all workers. But the Seattle minimum wage crusade came with unintended consequences. Consumers complain about ‘tipping fatigue,’ exacerbated by ‘tipflation,’ where suggested gratuities have risen in tandem with wages.

Seattle restaurant operators are panicked ahead of a minimum wage update that will now prevent tips and benefits from being deducted from hourly wages. For some Seattle restaurants, it will add about $45,000 in expenses per month that they don’t have.

When Seattle leaders hastily passed a $15 minimum wage hike, they offered a 10-year ramp-up period for small businesses (those with 500 or fewer employees). Under the current formula, restaurants may pay a $17.25 hourly wage if their employees earn at least $2.72 in tips per hour or in medical benefits. In 2025, this practice ends and the city of Seattle has refused to step in and help already-struggling restaurants.

Without tips, servers who once made $40-$50 an hour during busy shifts could find themselves stuck at Seattle’s flat-rate minimum wage if or when tipping culture changes or ends.”

Read the whole story here.

Rising food and labor costs, combined with Washington State’s Wuhan virus restrictions, have led to many restaurant closures.

I have no doubt that this new mininum wage will result in more restaurant closures. And I also have no doubt that Seattleites will never comprehend this message:

DCG