GOP's Emmer Would Like To Cut Waiter Wages

Republican Candidate for Governor Tom Emmer says he was surprised to learn that waiters can earn more than $100,000 a year, a good portion of that from tips.Emmer: Restaurant owners...I don't know if you call them restraunteers or ... but I've heard this from others that are running small businesses all around the metro area, and I haven't talked to them as much outstate, just maybe Duluth and Moorhead, but smaller towns . I hear mostly here in the Twin Cities and I didn't realize that it could be that great. Somebody could be taking home well over a hundred thousand dollars as a server.Reporter: Isn't that the free market at work? People reaping the benefits of hard work?Emmer: You know Brian, the answer to that would be yes if you didn't have a minimum wage law. Then you could say that it was the free market working. "Cause then they could hire employees at a living wage taking into account the tips that they're taking home. But what we've done essence is set the floor as to what they must get paid, regardless of what they get to take home in tips. We love the people that are serving. But you know when you could kill the goose that lays the golden egg which is the owner of the business, they're going to end up suffering as well. If these guys can't continue to operate then they can't continue to take advantage of the opportunity. So you've got to keep both in mind. And I would agree with you, it's the free market only up until you start talking about the minimum wage law.Reporter 2: Are you suggesting we repeal the minimum wage law?Emmer: Well, I don't know if you could do that. I mean we talked about that before.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• minimum wage
• waiters
• servers
• tom emmer
• governor
• mn
• minnesota

[getplaning]

He's probably thinking of strippers, because he spends so much money on them.

[DarthKreeg]

Maybe the politician's should get their pay lowered.

[baddave62]

This Republican fuck with the annoying accent should be forced to work for minimum wage the rest of his life. Even then he would be greatly overpaid.

[YukonGoldenBoy]

There are 9,000 waiters, waitresses, and bartenders, that did the state of Minnesota a favor and voted against Emmer. You're welcome.

[Thrasher9996]

A person working full time and earning a minimum wage makes $7.25 an hour which is $290 a week full-time and $15,660 a year BEFORE taxes.

Last I heard (which was back in '07-'08) the median income was around $45,000 a year. In my home state of Oklahoma it was around $36,000 a year.

[msmeredith]

How about cutting the wages of Government officials instead!

[cjs33139]

@MissMoxie78 I can't believe this idiot says that most waiters are taking in 100 grand a year! Is he insane? He certainly must be taking of escorts.  What a moron. Another typical out of touch Repubican.

[jcac1023]

Looks like this guy has more enemies than followers...

[ericsvenson100]

I was a server for many years. I made enough to live in a crapy apt and pay my bills for the most part. This is a great example of someone who has probly never had to work in the customer service field. Pick on the little guys much jerk?

[midweststreetracer]

I work at a restaurant as a server and I barely make 10,000 a year not even enough to get by half the time and I go to bed hungry a lot of times if I were paid 2.10 an hour I will be living on the streets homeless. By the way me and all my co-workers would LOVE to know what restaurant I can make 100,000.00 a year at so we can all put in an application there.