Businesses will almost certainly look for ways to economize on low-skilled labor. They’ll invest in labor-saving technology, such as self-service kiosks in fast-food restaurants, and they’ll cut back hours. Some employers will simply move to the suburbs.

Businesses will raise prices to absorb some of the higher cost, but there’s a limit to how much consumers are willing to pay for a fast-food hamburger, even in prosperous Seattle. If hamburger sales go down, so does the number of workers needed to make and sell them.

To be sure, many workers will get a raise. They’ll be cheering all the way to the bank. The most marginalized members of the workforce probably won’t be so happy.

“Employers will cherry-pick,” says Susan Feigenbaum, a professor of economics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. “When the wage goes up, you’re going to keep the people who generate at least $15 in value, and those will tend to be the older workers. A young single mother may be less reliable because she has to deal with child care issues, and what do you think will happen to her? She’s going to be one of the workers let go.”