A recent trek to southern California brought not only a trip down memory lane for this writer but also a case of sticker shock. Consider just some of the expenses that busted my food budget: $10.71 for a McDonald’s McMuffin meal; $15.93 for a steak burrito (without sides) at Baja Fresh; and $26.44 for a kebab plate and baklava from a local Middle Eastern chain.
These high prices represent one logical result of California’s disastrous mandate to impose a $20 minimum wage on workers in fast-food restaurants. At a time when Americans across the country continue to suffer the ill effects of “Bidenflation,” Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-French Laundry, has imposed yet another higher cost on residents of, and visitors to, the Golden State.
Employers Cutting Hours — and Workers
It stands to reason that imposing a 25 percent increase on businesses’ labor costs would have undesirable effects. Sure enough, a recent survey of limited-service restaurants undertaken by the Employment Policies Institute demonstrates the damage to California establishments and workers.
Among the businesses surveyed, two-thirds (67 percent) believe the new mandate will cost at least $100,000 per restaurant, with more than one-quarter (26 percent) claiming the law will impose at least $200,000 in costs. Unsurprisingly, just about all of the restaurant owners surveyed (98 percent) said they had raised prices in response. Nearly 9 in 10 (89 percent) said they had reduced employee hours, with large majorities also claiming they would restrict overtime (73 percent) and trim down their staff or
