Sin of wages: living wages, killing restaurants.

• Author: Cavanaugh, Tim
• Position: Citings - Brief Article

BETWEEN ever-expanding "estimated" tax targets for tip income, draconian restaurant licensing restrictions, and proposals for menu labeling laws, you might think governments had already done their utmost to eliminate waiting tables for tips as a viable form of employment. But the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is, as always, one step beyond the rest.

The City by the Bay recently upped its minimum wage to $8.50 an hour, a hike that includes waitresses' and waiters' pay. Restaurateurs, who have until February to comply with the new law, are already discussing plans to cut back benefits and freeze hiring to offset the new expense.

San Francisco isn't alone in its commitment to "living wage" requirements. Santa Fe went to an $8.50 minimum wage earlier this year. Madison, Wisconsin, is aiming for $7.50, while the Wisconsin state legislature is considering a proposal to make that...