The Patriot Post® · The Golden State's Minimum Wage Job Killer

It’s a harsh reality for thousands of fast-food workers in California who now find themselves without a job, all thanks to the economically detrimental decision of the state’s Democrats to raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour.

UCLA economics professor Lee Ohanian found that roughly 9,500 jobs have been eliminated since the minimum wage was raised — and this is just the beginning. “More fast-food job losses are coming as the new minimum wage took effect earlier this month,” he notes. “This includes losses at Pizza Hut and Round Table Pizza which are in the process of firing nearly 1,300 delivery drivers. El Pollo Loco and Jack in the Box announced that they will speed up the use of robotics, including robots that make salsa and cook fried foods.”

This result was entirely predictable, and Democrat politicians like Governor Gavin Newsom knew it. That is why he sought to carve out a space for restaurants that — no kidding — bake their own bread. That loophole benefits at least one restaurant owned by a company founded by … Gavin Newsom. The PlumpJack Cafe in Olympic Valley recently had a job listing for $16 an hour because it’s exempt from the law.

It’s not just workers who have been hurt by the minimum wage hike. Many small business owners have had to close up shop. One restaurant owner, Marco Capanni, had to do so after 30 years in business. “For a small business like ours, it’s costing us a few thousand dollars to meet this new minimum wage … which is the highest in the country. It’s really tough for us,” Capanni explained.

In the heart of West Hollywood, the impact of the minimum wage increase is stark. A staggering 85 businesses have been forced to shut their doors, a clear testament to the economic upheaval caused by the wage hike.

Often, those workers fortunate enough to keep their jobs have not seen much benefit from the wage hike. Why not? A recent study found that 17% of workers in West Hollywood have had their hours cut.

The trouble is that neither Newsom nor the Democrats who touted this wage increase will reconsider. For them, the blame for workers losing their jobs or having their hours cut goes to those “greedy” business owners, not the unchanging basics of economics. Legislating that something (labor) should cost a certain (higher) amount does not mean that it’s worth that certain amount or that a business can afford to pay it.

California’s minimum wage increase may also be partly to blame for the lower-than-expected national jobs numbers for April, which came in at 175,000 added, well below the anticipated 240,000. Furthermore, the headline unemployment rate also rose to 3.9%.

All of this is bad news for Joe Biden, as the lousy economy remains the number one issue for voters. Try as he and his handlers might, the people aren’t buying Biden’s economic policies or dishonest attempts to reframe them in attractive language.

Unfortunately, Californians are learning the hard way how bad economic policy decisions make life that much more difficult. Will it motivate them to stop voting Democrat? Maybe some, but many conservatives are simply leaving the state for greener pastures.

And who can blame them?