LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – Thousands of Nevadans could see a higher salary if President-elect Joe Biden’s attempt to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour becomes a reality, but some entrepreneurs fear it could take a huge chunk of their profits.
Biden proposed the increase as part of his $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package.
“No one who works 40 hours a week should still be below the poverty line,” Biden said.
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13 Action News asked several Las Vegans for their views on the matter.
“We have to support the people who work,” said Bridget Chua-Hackett. “[Those] who are hardworking people.
“I actually think $ 15 might not be enough if they have families,” she added. “So I support that.”
“Especially here in Las Vegas it will have a huge impact,” said Kevin Lay. “Maybe it’s a good thing, maybe it’s a bad thing. I’m not sure.”
“Sounds good,” said Teresa Conde. “It will help a lot of people who don’t deserve it to support their families. But at the same time, I think it could be a disadvantage.”
Her husband, Luis, is a project manager. He says money isn’t the problem, but rather finding people who want to work and potentially turn down higher unemployment benefits.
“I’m offering $ 15.18 an hour,” said Luis Conde. “I have ads on Facebook, different pages, and people don’t call.”
“They just want to live on benefits sometimes,” he speculated.
Some small business owners and contractors believe that raising the minimum wage will bring them more pain than profit.
Todd Clore owns “Todd’s Unique Dining” and says there are many questions about how this will be implemented, especially when Nevada has already approved a minimum wage increase to $ 11 by 2024.
The current pandemic is also not helping.
“Post-pandemic? Yes, I don’t see it happening without losing another great deal of restaurants and small businesses,” he said.
But pre-pandemic it would have been a definite challenge, he added.
Biden is expected to present this federal minimum wage proposal and the rest of his plan to Congress next month.