Texas Town Raises Minimum Wage to $15/HR

It's been a headline for quite some time now thanks, in large part, to the fast food industry workers who are seeking a more livable wage. Raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour across the board. And now, one Texas town is doing just that.

San Marcos, about a half hour drive from Austin, has decided that in order to keep business honest they would adopt a $15/hr minimum wage.

City councilors recently mandated businesses applying for tax breaks and other incentives to build or expand must pay their workers that least amount plus benefits or seek their fortune elsewhere.

Councilman Scott Gregson said San Marcos’ bold approach is the answer. He said the $15 per hour minimum wage is not an average but a floor for those businesses looking for tax and fee breaks.

When cities provide incentives to developers and employers without requiring a living wage in return, he said, they create an “invisible subsidy” supported by taxpayers because workers need supplemental welfare programs to make ends meet.

“If you don’t make enough to raise your family, you’re going to be relying on food stamps, the food bank,” said Gregson, who holds a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard.

Bill Hammond, chief executive of the Texas Association of Businesses, says San Marcos will regret the consequences of a minimum wage that is more than twice that of the $7.25 federal minimum. He called the city’s decision “short-sighted,” adding wages should be left to the free market and not imposed by government.

Plenty of bigger cities including Los Angeles, and New York City have also adopted the wage increase and will phase it in over the next couple of years.

John Austin with CNHI wrote a good article explaining the situation in more detail. Which is where I got the information about this story. It's interesting. Do you agree with the change? Do you ever think it'll make it here to Victoria?

Discuss.