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Emmer: Restaurant owners...I don't know if you call them restraunteurs 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.