Restaurant Association comes out in favor of increasing minumum wage, but here's a catch, in my opinion

Restaurant Association of Washington surprises some people by coming out in favor of increasing the minimum wage. Good news for the most part. Often restaurant associations oppose raising the minimum wage.

Still, there is kind of a catch to their logic, in my opinion. The cost of living and economic conditions vary widely from region to region; even within one state. The Restaurant Association wants a consistent minimum wage statewide, rather than the inconsistent patchwork of differing rules from city to city. Problem is, the economy is not the same in prosperous and expensive Seattle as it is, for instance, in rural parts of the state, like around Starbuck, WA. Yes, there is a Starbuck, WA. located northeast of Tri Cities. A statewide minimum wage would, most likely, have to be lower than what would work in Seattle. That's my opinion, at least.

On the other hand, they do have some valid concerns about trying to comply with different laws in different cities. Also the problem of restaurants loosing business when they are located near the border of high wage cities, for instance customers going out of high wage Seattle to eat in Renton where costs are lower.

These are problems associated with wide discrepancies in the economy. Discrepancies between income groups, regions and economic sectors. Another way to deal with this problem, besides trying to set an artificial minimum wage, is to bring back a steeper graduated income tax.