The median wage in our rural area is probably about 10 an hour. A 15 minimum will shut the area down. It’s irrational.
Agreed. No minimum at all is the best policy, but that’s politically nonviable. Next best would be allowing your municipality to set its own minimum at something more sane like $7 or $8/hr rather than having $15/hr mandated by the Feds. That $15/hr might be reasonable elsewhere, like NYC or DC for example, so those localities should be able to set the minimum at a level that makes sense there.