The state’s fast-food employment was “down since the beginning of the year”; menu prices “spiked by roughly double the amount Berkeley researchers estimate”; and a supermajority of operators say further staffing and pricing adjustments may be required to continue to adjust in” 2025.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the government could make everyone richer simply by passing laws that increase our income? Unfortunately, our world doesn’t work that way. When government chooses winners, someone loses, and nothing illustrates this better than when lawmakers set wage floors, as they did with California’s $20 fast-food worker minimum wage.
As the latest analysis shows, job opportunities have declined for fast-food workers. At the same time, dining options have been narrowed. That favorite burger could soon cost more if state officials raise the minimum wage even higher this spring.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Fast food minimum wage’s predictable result: Fewer jobs, even higher prices to come
Kerry Jackson
The state’s fast-food employment was “down since the beginning of the year”; menu prices “spiked by roughly double the amount Berkeley researchers estimate”; and a supermajority of operators say further staffing and pricing adjustments may be required to continue to adjust in” 2025.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the government could make everyone richer simply by passing laws that increase our income? Unfortunately, our world doesn’t work that way. When government chooses winners, someone loses, and nothing illustrates this better than when lawmakers set wage floors, as they did with California’s $20 fast-food worker minimum wage.
As the latest analysis shows, job opportunities have declined for fast-food workers. At the same time, dining options have been narrowed. That favorite burger could soon cost more if state officials raise the minimum wage even higher this spring.
Read the op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.