Labor Secretary Thomas Perez

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez

"I find it a remarkable notion that McDonald's can't afford to pay an increase in the minimum wage but In-N-Out Burger can," said Perez, alluding to the West Coast burger chain known to pay above-average wages for the industry. "That doesn't make sense. They [In-N-Out Burger] do it for same reason -- it's about reducing attrition and having a more effective workforce."

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez makes a basic, but still important, point about all the whining from low-wage employers Somehow, you can find many examples like that, from Costco to convenience store chain QuikTrip to the Washington, D.C., Ace hardware stores Perez recently visited that start their pay at $10 an hour. Yet other businesses in the very same industries insist that it can't be done, that they'd go out of business if they had to pay anything close to a living wage—even if it was the minimum wage that all employers had to pay.