California's Minimum Wage Madness

Despite the years—decades—of research revealing the damage
caused by forced minimum wage hikes, state and federal governments are still
pushing this unsound and unjust policy.

The California state legislature just rammed through a $15
minimum wage hike.

Yes, rammed. Sunday deliberation turned into Friday passage and then Monday signage and celebration.

Whoopee.

Let’s be very clear: they did not raise anything. They have
only imposed more costly regulations on businesses, small and large, in the state
of California.

New York State has jumped on board to continue this madness.

Where do these state legislators think the money is going to
come from for these outrageous proposals?

Businesses in California, and to a lesser extent in New
York, are reeling under a moribund, slowed economy.

Obamacare is dragging down the employment opportunities.
High taxes and the reckless spending of the state legislature have discouraged
entrepreneurs, young and old ,from expanding their  operations, or from even testing the trade
markets.

Now the legislature is demanding that every entry level
employee make more money than active service men and women.

I went to a local McDonald’s this past weekend. The manager
told me that the restaurant would be closing for a month. Remodeling, she told
me. What for? They were setting up automated kiosks. No longer will customers
look up at a menu and order a meal from a living person.

The machines are moving in, and pushing out entry level
employees. Young people who were hoping for that early job to learn necessary
skills for other work will have to look elsewhere, if they find anything at all. 

Why would they do such a terrible thing? 

The liberal media has praised this development, countering the
arguments that dangers linger in the state’s economic future.

But first, a little background on how this bill got passed in the first place.

MSN Money reports:

The state's
legislature will take up a proposal to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour,
up from its current $10, by 2022. The bill is likely to pass because of a deal
reached over the weekend between Gov. Jerry Brown, labor leaders and some of
the state's top legislators.

Backroom deals between Big Government and Big Labor.
Business interests had no say at the table.

And of course, who loved this bill?

Labor leaders praised
the California bill on Monday. "It shows the power of standing up,"
Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, told
The Huffington Post. "It shows that by sticking together, working people
speak with a powerful voice and are heard by our elected representatives."

What is supposed to be
the benefit of this legislation?

No. This bill merely shows the strangle-hold that Big Labor
has on California. This disgusting shoving-match for power in Sacramento proves
that lawmakers who vote against their constituents’ best interests are just
protecting their own special interests. Big Labor buys them a seat in the state
assembly, and the legislator keeps the fast-food assemblyman of graft and
sinecures flowing to the unions.

But there is good news, right?

Higher wages in
California alone could boost a lot of people: Almost 18 million individuals are
employed in the country's largest state economy, and 118,000 of them make the
minimum wage or less. Further, unlike federal law, California law does not
permit employers to pay tipped workers a lower minimum wage. That means a hike
to $15 would apply to the state's tipped workers as well.

“Could.” “Might.” Possibly? Lies. All of it. Even for those
still working, the wage increase will run into cost-of-living increases across
the board. What’s the use of a little more money in your wallet when that
little bump will get run over by the rising costs of groceries at the grocery
store?

This increase may impact tipped positions, if they still
have a job. Restaurants are not going to just start handing out what little
profit margins they have left. The costs will fall on the consumers. They costs
will drive away customers.

Housing costs are a
particular problem for California's low-income residents. Many parts of the
state — particularly along the coast and in areas within commuting distance of
Los Angeles, San Francisco and Silicon Valley — are facing a dearth of
affordable housing. California rents are the second-highest in the country,
after those in Hawaii.

Take Guadalupe
Salazar, a McDonald's employee who lives in Oakland and makes $12.55 an hour.
It’s not enough. Her monthly rent is $900, nearly half of her take-home pay if
she works 40 hours a week.

Watch housing rates go up even faster. They rents will
outpace the higher wages. Inflation is the new normal.

I have read about families who struggle with four kids on
one income. Question: why do these adults insist on having kids when they do not
have the money to raise them? A lack of personal responsibility is prevalent in
the state of California. Instead of learning new skills and improving their
marketability to prospective employers, many low-age Millennials want to demand
more money just for showing up.

The free market just does not work that way.

Minimum wage laws are ensuring that a minimum number of
people are working. They will enshrine a minimum number of businesses staying
open. Outside of Silicon Valley, commerce of all kinds will cover, cave, or run
for cover in another state because of this forced wage hike.