California voters reject leftist madness

“Californians have rejected a measure that would have raised the state’s minimum wage to $18 an hour,” he said. Washington Examiners Jenny Goldsberry reports. “Two weeks after Election Day, California has counted more than 99% of votes and found that a slim majority of 50.8% as of Wednesday voted against Proposition 32. This is the first time voters have rejected a wage increase in a state election. »

“The state already has a $16 minimum wage and a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers,” Goldsberry noted.

Apparently, even Democratic voters in California saw how their current policies were working and decided not to make things worse, which is what this ballot initiative would do if it were successful. (Note: The state probably won’t take more than two full weeks to count the votes.)

We all want hardworking people to earn more, and we all feel for those who are struggling to make ends meet. But simply raising the mandatory minimum wage to $18 an hour won’t make workers more productive. In reality, all of this makes it illegal for any business to hire anyone who cannot provide that much value. For example, a teenager who could earn his boss $15 an hour is now effectively unemployed. As economist Thomas Sowell says, “The real minimum wage is always zero.”

How exactly do they benefit from pricing that pushes people out of the labor market or forces them to work illegally undercover?

To the extent that employers are forced to absorb additional labor costs, this will simply lead to higher prices for consumers. For example, the famous study found that McDonald’s “passed on” nearly 100% of the costs of the minimum wage increase through higher menu prices. And working class people won’t be much better off if the numbers in their wages go up, if the prices of the things they rely on go up too. Additionally, these increased costs will only further complicate small businesses struggling to survive in the Golden State.

All of these consequences are predictable given basic economic knowledge, but that is not something California voters typically possess. However, they may have woken up, at least on this issue, due to the dramatic failure of their state’s recent implementation of a $20 minimum wage for fast food restaurants.

How the Employment Policy Institute reportsNinety-eight percent of California restaurants surveyed said they responded by raising prices, 89% said they cut their employees’ hours, and 70% cut staff, consolidated positions, or both. Oh, and 89% of restaurant owners said they are now less likely to expand into California.

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Otherwise everything is going smoothly.

You know progressive propaganda is going badly because progressives can’t even convince people in California, of all places, to join in with their terrible ideas. Maybe, just maybe, Golden State voters are finally starting to wake up and can save their state from self-imposed, slow economic decline.

Brad Polumbo is a freelance journalist and show host. Brad against everyone podcast.