As the midterm election gets closer, the choice becomes clearer. Stick with President Trump's amazing economic record that Republicans had better start shouting about from the rooftops, or elect self-proclaimed Democratic Socialists who will plunge the country into near bankruptcy with their perpetual freebie giveaways. Fortunately, we already have examples of what would happen if America goes down the path of Democratic Socialism. Seattle is one such example.
Seattle’s minimum wage is going up again. Workers will earn at least $22.14 an hour beginning Jan. 1, an increase of 84 cents from 2026.https://t.co/dEYlgmhPco pic.twitter.com/9g4UO3KZoJ
— KING 5 News (@KING5Seattle) September 28, 2026
In 2027, the blue bastion known as Seattle is set to increase the minimum wage to $22.14 an hour. Sounds great if you are flipping burgers. However, that hike is causing a sharp decrease in job openings and putting a lot of pressure on Seattle business owners as they deal with increasing costs. The trouble for Seattle business owners began in 2025 when all Seattle business owners, even small business owners, were required to pay the same minimum wage, which is adjusted annually for inflation.
Not long after the minimum wage mandate was enacted, in the first half of 2025, some 450 Seattle restaurants, 16 percent of the total number, closed. That's an awful lot of jobs for any city. Some business and shopping areas around big campuses like Amazon and Microsoft saw a 7 percent decrease in business.
Bottom line: If no other city or its surrounding area hikes its minimum wage to match or pass Seattle's proposed 2027 hike, it will be the home of the highest minimum wage in the nation. That means that someone working full-time at that wage will earn roughly $46,000 per year. Even back in 2024, one Seattle restaurant owner explained his own grim reality, saying, "If the servers are making $20 an hour, then I gotta pay the cooks $35."
Seattle’s minimum wage will increase 3.9% next year — remaining one of the highest in the nation. https://t.co/gcdJzgZfsO
— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) September 29, 2026
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson was bankrolled by her parents well into her 40s. Before she became mayor, she stated that “I worked a bunch of working-class jobs,” including in a lab, a bakery, a law office, and in construction. She added, “Psychologically, it really did something to me.” No kidding, it's called "work" for a reason. But as Democratic Socialist mayors like Wilson and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — people who are demonstrating they know nothing about economics — pile up, many cities will be left with the very rich, who are not affected by socialist policies, and the very poor who can't exist without them. You don't have to be an economist to know that is not sustainable.
In addition to possible looming economic issues with an increased minimum wage, the city faces a lawsuit brought by a former Human Services Department employee who claims that required racial training resulted in him suffering years of harassment and discrimination.
But if anyone is looking for a giant laboratory to see what happens when economically illiterate leaders run a city, Seattle is rapidly becoming a giant lab rat.
Seattle spa owner freezes hiring, turns to AI as the city’s minimum wage jumps to $22.14 an hour https://t.co/pTO5y6flEW
— Jason Rantz on Seattle Red (@jasonrantz) September 30, 2026
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it's spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there's nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.
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