Well, your lack of travel outside urban and high end areas has been exposed. In my immediate area, no homes are available for under $200k. And $200k is just livable. What's considered middle class homes are $400k and up. Go one county over, and good entry level homes start under $100K. A friend of mine that works in IT for the largest co-op utility company in the nation bought a nice 2000 sq ft home there for $120k. One of my clients bought a 5 bedroom lake home with a pool (yeah, in ground) and emasculate landscaping for $500k in that same area.

A county adjoining both of the above mentioned is home to a national home improvement chain and $40k a year is high rolling.

One of the biggest problems in America is diversity. It's a key factor in all of our problems, yet we look for single solutions to them all instead of letting local areas solve their own problems.

Seattle might really need a $15 minimum wage. That's their problem to solve. But what seems clear is that the supporters of that rate haven't considered the impact that the $6 hike will put on employers. $12k per employee per year is a big number to make up. I found it very interesting that the Restauranteur in the PBS interview stated it would probably mean an increase of $25 more to the tab of a family of four visiting his establishment. I have a family of 5. I make more than $15 an hour. Adding $25 to the check, then tip and tax would mean no more going out. I also assume his number of $25 doesn't factor in the increase in his supplies once his vendors raise their salaries too. The fact that the supporters of that increase didn't give any break to tipped positions does suggest they have zero business comprehension.