‘Everything’s expensive’: Gee and Ursula discuss whether Seattle’s minimum wage increase will ease financial strain

Seattle’s minimum wage will rise to $22.14 an hour on January 1, 2027, an increase of 84 cents from the current rate. The annual adjustment is tied to inflation in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area.

Discussing the increase during “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, co-host Gee Scott questioned why living costs keep straining household budgets, while co-host Ursula Reutin addressed the costs facing employers.

“I don’t want it to turn into worker versus businesses,” Gee said. “Why in the world is it costing so much just to live? Period. Just stop for a second. Forget worker. Forget business. Just in general, why is it costing so much money to live? Every single time we walk out, everything’s expensive for everyone.”

Gee questions what workers need to get by

Gee described a familiar divide in conversations about minimum wage: Workers say they need more money, while businesses say they are struggling to cover expenses.

“We know that workers are having a hard time making money,” Gee said. “Remember when it was $15 an hour, and this morning on the show it was like, what is the new $15 an hour? Is it $22 or is it $27?”

He also described the response he hears from employers.

“And then you have businesses that are like, ‘Well, wait a minute, Gee, wait a minute, we’re struggling too,’” Gee said.

Ursula discussed what the increase would mean for someone earning minimum wage.

“This is obviously good news if you’re a worker earning minimum wage, even though it’s still hard; it’s still a struggle,” Ursula said.

Ursula discusses how businesses could cover higher pay

Ursula turned to the choices employers could face as payroll expenses increase.

“Basic economics does say that something has to absorb that higher payroll,” she said. “So for small restaurants, retailers and other labor-heavy businesses, you’re either looking at increasing your prices, which you mentioned, reducing hours, slowing down your hiring or lowering your profits, and there are just simply some businesses that are not going to be able to handle that.”

Ursula also referred to previous conversations on the show about the difficulty of keeping a business open.

“Your friend Eduardo, who’s come in, has talked about how hard it is for some businesses to make it,” she said.

Gee pushes back on a workers v. businesses debate

Gee returned to his decision not to frame the conversation as a choice between employees and employers.

“At the end of the day, look, we know that people working need to be able to live, and we know that people that own the business, we know that you need to be able to live,” Gee said. “So guess what? Everybody needs to live.”

“Exactly, and some unfortunately will not pencil out,” Ursula responded.

Gee summed up his concern about balancing those costs.

“There’s been a saying I’ve been saying a lot lately,” he said. “The math ain’t mathing.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.