The people on the top of the totem pole (first off, I meant the highest paid workers) would leave and find better jobs if their pay got cut. I have seen this happen before.
And business owners will want to keep their best workers and yet keep the income they make. Business people will not let themselves be shafted, even if the government does things to shaft them. That’s why raising taxes jacks over the middle class; everything becomes more expensive and they have to pay more. And the same here. The business owners will not hire as many people if it means their income gets cut. They’re very adaptable.
Because $5 more an hour adds up pretty quick. If you have 500 employees that work 10 hours, that becomes $25,000 extra per day. In a month that is $750,000. In 6 months that is $4,500,000, and in just one year that is $9,000,000 extra money you’re paying to employees. Which means the owners will cut people out to ensure this does not happen. Not every business has the money to just throw around like this.