3 Democrats and 1 Republican discussed raising the minimum wage in Monday night’s Senate debate with one Democrat being asked to defend her plan to raise it to $50.

Business owners warned of dire consequences if New York City officials pass a $30 minimum wage hike in comments to the Wall Street Journal.

The city council in New York City may boost the minimum wage up to $30 and Mayor Zohran Mamdani signaled on the campaign trail that he could make it a reality.

"As much as I would like to pay $30, we don’t have money," Moe Chan, who has a coffee and tea company in Queens, told the Journal.

NYC $30 MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL PUSHED BY MAMDANI WOULD 'OBLITERATE' CERTAIN INDUSTRIES: EXPERT WARNS

Business owners warn of dire consequences if New York City officials pass a $30 minimum wage hike, business owners told the Wall Street Journal. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

"We feel like we’re at a tipping point with consumers," said Melissa Fleischut, president of the New York State Restaurant Association.

The mandate was a campaign pledge from Mamdani, who promoted a "$30 by ‘30" minimum wage message. 

"When working people have more money in their pocket, the overall economy thrives," Mamdani said last year. "Right now, if you are earning a minimum wage in the city, you simply cannot afford to continue calling it your home. We have to change that." 

Mamdani’s proposal would reportedly follow Los Angeles' model with an incremental increase to $30 in 2030, a local New York outlet reported.

Business owners on the West Coast shared similar sentiments, but some are actually having to deal with the mandate after local officials passed the law.

'UTTERLY UNAFFORDABLE': STUDY REVEALS HOW DEEP BLUE CITY'S MINIMUM WAGE LAW IS RAVAGING KEY INDUSTRY

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)

A phased-in minimum wage hike in Los Angeles that will mandate up to $30 per hour for airport and hotel workers was signed into law last year by Mayor Karen Bass. It mandates that their hourly wage must be raised by $2.50 each year until they reach $30 in 2028. 

The Hotel Association of Los Angeles (HALA) recently commissioned a study that found hotels have eliminated or expect to eliminate 6% of positions, roughly 650 jobs, since the Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance took effect in September.

As business owners in New York brace for a similar fate as those in Los Angeles, Sean Hayden, who owns five restaurants that employ over 200 people, said the dream of opening a restaurant in the city wouldn’t be possible for aspiring restaurant owners, and he would have to cut staff under the wage hike.

EATING OUT GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE AS AMERICANS HIT 'MENU PRICE FATIGUE' NATIONWIDE

​​"It’s just going to get to the stage where a chef or a waitress or a bartender who has a dream of opening a restaurant — it’s just not possible," Hayden told the Wall Street Journal.

Sean Hayden, who owns five restaurants that employ over 200 people in NYC, said the dream of opening a restaurant in the city wouldn’t be possible for aspiring restaurant owners. (iStock)

Hayden said the minimum wage should be $20 to $25 an hour. If the mandate goes anything beyond that, he would have to lay off a "dozen" servers while installing QR codes for diners to order on their phones. 

"You’re taking the whole dining, hospitality aspect of it out," he told the Journal.

Mamdani's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

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Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.

Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program. 

Story tips can be sent to joshua.nelson@fox.com and Joshua can be followed on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

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