Business owners faced with a rise in operating costs have called Assembly Bill 10, the bill that would raise California's minimum wage from $8 to $10 an hour by 2016, too much too soon. However, with the expiration of the payroll tax cut and a rise in the cost of living, workers have responded that minimum wage is still not enough to get by on.

The California Chamber of Commerce publicly branded the bill a job killer on Sunday, citing a sluggish economic recovery for local businesses and requesting more time before paying higher wages.

"It's going to affect my business dramatically," said Andrew Swanson, owner of The Espresso Masters, a Los Angeles-based coffee product distribution company. "I pay 40 cents on the dollar in taxes for every dollar I pay my employees. For new, uneducated hires like a driver, it would dig into my bottom line - that's too much to pay for someone that's not thinking on their feet."

Swanson, who has has seen many of his restaurant clients close their doors in the last 12 years, says the new bill will cause more establishments to fail.

But David Solorzano, manager of restaurant La Luz Del Dia at Olvera Street situated in the heart of L.A., isn't worried. "We're way above the minimum wage, by at least three dollars," he said. The restaurant, which opened in 1959, currently has about 20 employees.

California's minimum wage is higher than the federal rate of $7.25 an hour, but lower than those of some other states. Certain cities have put their own minimum wage in place, like San Francisco, where workers must be paid at least $10.55 per hour.

The bill, authored by Assemblyman Luis Alejo (D-Watsonville), would raise California's minimum wage to $9 in July 2014, and then to $10 in Jan. 2016. The state Senate approved the bill Thursday, after which it returned to the Assembly for a final vote as a formality before being sent to Governor Brown, who has already promised to support it.

But no one disagrees on just how hard living off minimum wage is. When McDonald's released a sample budget in July designed to help employees manage their earnings, that fact was painfully clear: the hypothetical employee worked two jobs and made $2,060 a month, suggesting that even the employer knows that one can't get by on serving Big Macs alone.

Last month, fast-food workers across the nation protested for a living wage of $15 an hour, calling the current pay, last adjusted four years ago in California,  "too damn low."

Shannon Southand, a server and bartender at California Pizza Kitchen in the Financial District, welcomed the bill as a sign of progress. "I'm a single mother and I have to support my family on minimum wage," she explained. "It's just not enough to buy groceries and pay rent at the same time. I live off tips."

Southland was quick to add that CPK is a great place to work with room for career advancement, but that her position for the past three years has paid minimum wage. A manager of the branch declined to comment, citing company policy. The CPK corporate office was unable to be reached for comment at time of publication.

Full-time minimum wage workers in California make $1,280 a month before taxes, according to the U.S. Minimum Wage Directory, with official data estimating about 1.5 million full-time workers statewide earning $8 per hour. When AB10 goes into full effect in Jan. 2016, the minimum wage for full-time work will jump to $1,600 a month.

Whether this bump in pay will translate to more spending power amongst the lowest earners, however, is uncertain. According to a 2002 study conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California, AB10's proposal of $10 an hour would lift minimum wage earnings by just 1.75 percent and, under "the best estimates," could reduce poverty by 0.7 percent over the first three years of taking effect, all other factors excluded.

But in the real world, other factors cannot be excluded. As higher wages translate to higher operating costs for employers, the choice between cutting staff and raising prices often results in the former - especially retail and fast-food businesses whose hallmark is a low price. The benefit of bringing home more pay each month must be weighed against the costs, namely the reduction of hours, or dismissal from work altogether.

Another major factor is the expiration of the payroll tax cut that took place in January of this year. By the end of 2013, California's full-time minimum wage workers will have had an additional $332.80 in payroll taxes deducted from their earnings. When the hourly wage rises, so does the amount deducted.

From 2014-2016, these workers will earn $7,280, with around $1,145 withheld for the payroll tax. In other words, taking the the higher tax and AB10's two wage increases into account, full-time minimum wage earners in California will bring home an extra $6,134 in the next three years.

Analysts have noted that, when adjusted to the cost of living, the minimum wage is still lower than the 1968 federal minimum wage peak, which amounted to $10.70 in today's dollars.

In addition to the possibility of food stamps being cut, inflation due to this increase also affect the real value of the additional income earned and the low-wage earner's ability to afford groceries and other necessities.

Reach Staff Reporter America Hernandez here.