The battle over raising the minimum wage in Arizona is settled now after about 60 percent of the voters in the state voted to approve the measure.
It centered around many in the business community arguing that it would hurt small businesses who can’t afford to pay workers more.
But early numbers out last week seemed to show that the restaurant industry here is growing — not hurting — after the raise went into effect.
The same may not be true in San Diego.
San Diego also voted to raise their minimum wage last year to $11.50 an hour. And a recent column in the San Diego Tribune argues that there may be evidence of an economic downside to the minimum raise boost.
I spoke with Dr. Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University. She says there are only a year’s worth of numbers in, but, so far, they don’t look good for the restaurant industry.
