Businesses will support policies that benefit it by hurting its competition. Dan Hamermesh explains this in referring to an example of a minimum wage proposal from Germany.
One might wonder why a big employer is pushing a plan that might raise its average variable cost. The reason is that the German Post, which is a high-wage employer, faces increasing competition from lower-cost carriers. If the minimum wage is imposed, it will not raise Deutsche Post’s average variable cost by much, since most of its workers already make more than the proposed minimum wage; but it will raise its competitors’ costs.
That will give Deutsche Post an advantage over its competitors — or at least reduce its disadvantage. It will be able to compete more successfully against its formerly lower-cost competitors.