By Mili Mansaray
Kansas City Beacon, December 26, 2024
A voter-mandated pay hike for Missouri’s minimum wage workers hasn’t kicked in yet — and conservative lawmakers and business groups are looking to the General Assembly and the courts to block the raise. ...
Mike Draper is the owner of Raygun Clothing, which has stores employing 105 people in Kansas City; Des Moines, Iowa; Chicago; and Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska.
Draper is a member of Missouri Business for a Healthy Economy, a coalition of over 500 business owners who support Proposition A. ...
He said that if the minimum wage isn’t increasing with inflation, it can harm the economy.
Raygun’s employees already make $15.50 per hour as a starting wage, but he wants to see all hourly employees earn more and carry more spending power to boost local economies.
“They should want as many people as possible to have money to use that’s not just for survival,” he said.
Missourians for Healthy Families estimates that an increased minimum wage could put $600 million in the pockets of Missouri consumers.
As a clothing retailer, Draper said the industry relies on people having disposable income to spend on nonessential items like his products.
“There’s only so many T-shirts Elon Musk can wear at a time,” he said. “So anything you can do to spread money to as many people as possible is going to be good in the long run.” ...