They were talking about this the other day on the radio and a guy called in and said he owns one of these franchises though he wouldn't identify which one. He said while he does make a fair bit of profit it is well less than $1 per an employee per an hour. He said if he put all the profit - took no money out - into raises the employees would get less than $1 per hour raise. He then added his costs would likely go up with the minimum wage - delivery drivers, etc. Realistically he said all the cost of the raises and expenses would have to go into the price of the product.

Lots of those minimum wage workers get Medicaid and other government support. You just can't raise children on such wages, so we are supporting these people one way or another.

If you're working a fast food/minimum wage job you should be one of three things: a student living at home, a retired person who is just looking to supplement their retirement income; or a manager, looking to open your own franchise. If you think you deserve more money to support your family then get a damn education, learn a trade and get yourself a raise that way! It's not the local McD's franchisee's fault that you don't have any real marketable skills. Minimum wage jobs were never designed to support an entire family.

Do not miss this:

The Federal minimum wage sets the value of the dollar.

Each time the minimum wage is raised, the value of the dollar GOES DOWN. In fact, it cannot do otherwise.

This is because the basic unit, "an hour of work" CANNOT be changed. Only the value of the dollar can be.

It is government-mandated inflation!

Now, if you are blinded by poor education and a tendency to not think things through, you might think, "Great! My representatives care about me - they made my nasty boss pay more!"

Then you'll blame rising prices on that mysterious "someone else". Don't do that.

Know what minimum wage law does: buy votes at the expense of the nation. Meanwhile, changes do nothing to relieve you of the responsibility to make yourself valuable if you want to actually be paid more. This is one of those cases where you really should have paid attention in algebra class, as you personally do not get an advantage when the "raise" occurs for everyone.

What Radwaste said.

When you raise the current minimum wage to $15, then my current professional employment that works out to about $25 an hour suddenly has much less buying power.

Guess what happens: I'll go to the boss and say I need a raise because I have a higher cost of living, that $25/hour just doesn't go as far as I need it to go. And the boss will agree because he's feeling that pinch, too. So maybe my wage will be $30 or $35 an hour and...and the minimum wage goober is now finding out that his shiny new wage is about the same as it was before.

If we're lucky, that is. It could be worse.

Oh, there will be a period of time when those dollars are still strong, but it won't last very long before the rest of us catch up.

On the bright side, that means our debt to China has less value, so there is that.

You're willing to pay $106 for a Big Mac, aren't you?

Depends. Do I get fries with that?

Money is just a means of exchange. At one time the value of money was attached to other goods, such as gold, but most countries have fiat currency, which means that money is worth whatever the market decides it is worth.

Himt, the more you print, (or digitalize) the less it is worth.

Pity so few people have a basic understanding of economics.

The real rate of inflation is already around twelve percent per year. Raising the minumum wage will just fuel that fire,

People on fixed incomes and living off their savings get screwed first, and then everyone else,
Bill Gates will never feel the pinch, but the retireee living on a 25k pension sure will.

Your property taxes and ultities will keep going up with the rate of inflation, but your income wont go up in tandem with those taxes, and energy costs.

When the cruise lines and airlines go bankrupt because medical care, food and housing is consuming all of most peoples income, 90 percent will still be too ignorant to figure out what the political class in this country has done to them.

The hundred dollar hamburger and seventy five buck fries are just down the road a bit.

Personally, I do not need, nor want, the government to "demand" my minumum wage of $45.00/hour. When the market isn't hampered by the government that is what I get for my skills and experience in my field.

When the government starts "demaning" things (such as Obamacare) the market reacts by saying NO because it (i.e. employers) don't know when or where the "demands" will stop. So, we all get screwed in the process; except those who wants us all dependent on government handouts in exchange for votes.

Semi-OT:

So why is McD's cutting employee hours?