Originally Published by Everett Herald on January 26th, 2014. 

During his campaign, Governor Inslee liked to say he would focus “like a laser beam” on creating jobs. Fast forward to 2014. In his first “State of the State” address, Inslee only mentioned job creation to take credit for Boeing narrowly deciding not to take its 777X jobs elsewhere.

With his next breath, Inslee outlined his plan to discourage employment, raise prices and burden Washington’s job creators by further raising the state minimum wage.

Boosting the minimum wage is all the rage these days. Last fall, SeaTac voters barely approved a targeted $15 minimum wage initiative. Labor activists, spurred on by Seattle’s new socialist council member, have declared their intention to spread $15-an-hour fever to Seattle this year.

Not to be left out, Inslee proposed raising the state’s minimum wage from $9.32 — already the highest state wage floor ­— to between $10.82 and $11.82.

“Every job offers dignity, but not every job offers a living wage,” Inslee declared. By some measures, though, Washington already has a “living wage.” The living wage for a single adult in Washington is $8.77, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s “Living Wage Calculator,” noticeably below the state minimum.

Many living wage advocates, however, contend that a single worker should be able to support a family on only a minimum wage salary. But where should the line be drawn

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