Category California minimum wage going to $50 per hour

Mar 5 2024

Why Panera is Excluded from California’s Minimum Wage Hike


Posted originally on Mar 5, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

Newsom Gavin Gov Calif

California is raising the minimum wage of fast food employees from $16 to $20 under the FAST Act. I have explained that raises to California’s minimum wage was restricted due to successful lobbying efforts on behalf of fast food establishments. The new law does include commercial fast food restaurants, excluding Panera Bread. Why?

Fast food lobbyists spent $4 million in the first six months of this year to prevent the California Accountability Bill from passing. The bill would hold franchisees and their parent companies jointly liable for the treatment of workers. California Governor Gavin Newsom claimed that minimum wage jobs were not meant for students of people looking to gain employment experience. “That’s a romanticized version of a world that doesn’t exist,” Newsom said. “We have the opportunity to reward that contribution, reward that sacrifice and stabilize an industry.”

A fast-food bill was passed in September 2022 that set the minimum wage to $22 per hour for select chains with over 100 locations, later expanding to a $20 minimum pay for restaurants with 60 locations. Now California is specifically exempting fast food establishments that contain bakeries, such as Panera Bread. Why are restaurants that sell bread above the law?

The answer is that politicians are always up for sale to the highest bidder. Glenn Flynn is the largest fast food franchise owner in America with an empire of 2,600 restaurant locations that produce around $.45 billion in sales. Flynn, estimated to be worth around $1.1 billion, has strongly supported Gavin Newsom publicly since 2014, when Newsom was a lieutenant governor. Both men attended the same high school and have longstanding ties.

Bloomberg reported that Flynn donated $64,800 to Newsom’s personal re-election campaign and an additional $100,000 for conservative-led recall efforts. Flynn’s holdings in California only include two establishments – Applebee’s and Panera Bread. Applebee’s is exempt from the law despite its pre-frozen dishes since it is a sit-down restaurant chain. Panera Bread, on the other hand, is exempt due to this specific loophole that only excludes establishments that bake bread. This is what happens when lobbying is permitted and politicians are for sale.

Feb 16 2024

$50 Minimum Wage?


Posted originally on Feb 16, 2024 By Martin Armstrong 

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Lawmakers should be required by law to pass a financial literacy test before taking office. California has repeatedly raised the minimum wage as the cost of living continues to rise. They have not lowered the amount of taxes that the state will collect from these workers. California has the highest debt of any state in the US, with some reports estimating it to be around $520 billion. The cost of living continues to rise, but would raising the minimum wage actually help?

Now, I am not against raising the minimum wage. In Florida, I voted for a hike in the minimum wage in 2020 that would increase the minimum wage gradually to $15 an hour. Under the mandate, Florida’s minimum wage rate increased to $10 an hour in September 2021. The minimum wage then will increase by $1 each year until it reaches $15 an hour in 2026. The minimum wage rate applies to all public and private sector employers, regardless of size or number of employees. I voted for it because by 2026 we should see a rise in inflation due to shortages.

I would prefer to see the minimum wage qualified by age. The youth should not be discouraged from seeking their first job due to wage mandates that force employers to downsize. Small businesses were decimated after COVID lockdowns and increasing health care costs have made it difficult for small businesses, especially those service-oriented, to hire additional staff. This is why we see an increasing number of self-check-out options, automated jobs, and outsourced customer service positions in countries outside of the US.

Barbara Lee, a Democratic candidate in California, is advocating for a $50 minimum wage, which would equate to approximately $104,000 per year for a full-time worker. “In the Bay Area, I believe it was the United Way that came out with a report that very recently $127,000 for a family of four is just barely enough to get by,” Lee said. “Another survey very recently: $104,000. For a family of one, barely enough to get by low income because of the affordability crisis.”

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California already has a $20 minimum wage in place. Countless employers were forced to let go of employees and raise their prices to meet this requirement. In no reality should a minimum wage employee receive a six-figure salary as it simply is not worth the cost to the employer or consumer. Minimum wage jobs were intended to be entry-level. Inflation will continue to rise

I believe they are seeking to raise the minimum wage to unsustainable levels in an attempt to usher in Universal Basic Income. The Federal government is not permitting migrants to work and using them as the test subjects for UBI. The cost of living will continue to rise as government spending is only rising with no chance of stopping due to numerous wars. Politicians should not be allowed to toy with the minimum wage to buy votes as it is detrimental to the economy.