LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – Thousands of Nevadans could see a higher salary if pressure from President-elect Joe Biden to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour becomes a reality, but some businessmen fear that it could hurt their financial results.
Biden proposed the increase as part of his $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief stimulus package.
“Nobody who works 40 hours a week should still be below the poverty line,” said Biden.
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13 Action News asked several Las Vegans what they think about the subject.
“We need to support these people who are working,” said Bridget Chua-Hackett. “[Those] who are hardworking people.
“In fact, I think $ 15 may not be enough if they have a family,” she added. “So, I support that.”
“It will definitely have a big impact here in Las Vegas,” said Kevin Lay. “Maybe it’s a good thing, maybe it’s a bad thing. I’m not sure.”
“It looks like a good thing,” said Teresa Conde. “This will help many people who are not making money from it to support their families.
Her husband, Luis, is a project manager. He says the problem is not money, but finding people who want to work and possibly refusing greater unemployment benefits.
“I offer $ 15, 18 an hour,” said Luis Conde. “I have ads on Facebook, on different pages and people don’t care.”
“They just want to live on welfare sometimes,” he speculated.
Some small business owners and contractors believe that an increase in the minimum wage will bring more suffering than gain for them.
Todd Clore owns “Todd’s Unique Dining” and says there are many doubts about how it will be implemented, especially when Nevada has already approved an increase in the minimum wage to $ 11 by 2024.
In addition, the current pandemic does not help either.
“Post-pandemic? Yes, I don’t see that happening without losing another big piece of restaurants and small businesses,” he said.
“But the pre-pandemic would have been a definite challenge,” he added.
Biden is due to present this federal minimum wage proposal and the rest of his plan to Congress next month.