MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, Dori Monson debate $15 minimum wage

Mar 3, 2014, 2:20 PM | Updated: 4:06 pm

Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer joins KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson for a debate of a $15 ...

Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer joins KIRO Radio's Dori Monson for a debate of a $15 minimum wage in Seattle. (MyNorthwest.com/Jamie Skorheim)

(MyNorthwest.com/Jamie Skorheim)

The battle for a $15 minimum wage in Seattle is heating up as Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant urged supporters to join her at Wednesday’s Town Hall.

“I encourage all supporters of 15, all fast food workers, all retail workers, all human service workers to come early, put your name on the list, and testify about what $15 an hour would mean to you and your family,” she said in a video released promoting the event.

One of the other prominent voices in the call for a $15 an hour minimum wage sat down with KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson on Monday.

Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer has emerged as one of the strongest voices in support of the $15 minimum wage campaign. He’s said before and reiterated for Monson that, “The fundamental law of capitalism is that if workers don’t have any money, businesses don’t have any customers.”

But Monson doesn’t see it being the responsibility of government to intervene.

“This is where you and I differ so much because you believe that managing it is some level of governmental involvement,” said Monson. “I believe that managing it […] is you make yourself. You acquire the job skills. You acquire the talents that make you marketable to an employer.”

The two spent a full hour debating the issue:

MyNorthwest News

ml king shooting...

Tom Brock

Shots fired, vehicle crashed: 2 dead in south Seattle

Two people are dead following a shooting and car crash in south Seattle early Saturday morning.

21 hours ago

Homeless veterans...

Frank Lenzi

Washington gets $45M in VA grants to fight veteran homelessness

More than $45 million in federal funding is headed to Washington state to help homeless veterans and veterans at risk of losing their homes. The Department of Veterans Affairs said it has awarded grants to 17 community organizations across Washington for Fiscal Year 2027 as part of a record-setting national investment. “This funding is part […]

23 hours ago

9th ave...

Chris Sullivan

SDOT plans to paint over Convention Center street art that won’t come off 9th Ave.

SDOT, which granted the Seattle Convention Center the permit to paint 9th Ave., now has a plan to fix the problem.

2 days ago

Oreogate...

Katrina Guischard

‘Oreogate’ has parents picking sides over a kindergartner’s lunchbox

A chocolate sandwich cookie has become the center of a viral parenting showdown, real or not, dubbed "Oreogate."

2 days ago

I-405 (2)...

Nate Connors

A full closure of I-405 will make for a rough weekend commute

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has scheduled a full closure of northbound I-405 between Renton and Bellevue.

2 days ago

shooting...

MyNorthwest Staff

Woman in custody after domestic violence incident leads to officer-involved shooting in Seattle

A woman is in custody after a domestic violence incident turned into an officer-involved shooting in Seattle.

2 days ago

Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer, Dori Monson debate $15 minimum wage