Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Investing

Yes, California’s Fast-Food Minimum Wage Law Has Killed Thousands of Jobs

by January 13, 2025
January 13, 2025
Yes, California’s Fast-Food Minimum Wage Law Has Killed Thousands of Jobs

Michael Chapman

Recent estimates on job losses in California caused by a $20 minimum wage hike for fast-food employees confirm what classical liberal economics has always taught about the minimum wage and what Cato experts said about the law last summer. 

As Milton Friedman taught, minimum wage laws “increase unemployment” and “the groups that will be hurt the most are the low-paid and the unskilled.”

In California, the raise in the minimum wage for fast-food workers from $16 to $20 was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on September 28, 2023, and went into effect on April 1, 2024. The law applies to restaurants, coffee shops, and juice bars with at least 60 locations nationwide. E.g., McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Jersey Mike’s, Del Taco, and Pizza Hut.

That wage hike, which raised the cost of labor, killed 6,166 fast-food jobs between September 2023 and June 2024, reported the Employment Policies Institute in late December 2024. Counting the whole year since the law was signed—September 2023–2024—there were at least 9,600 job losses (and up to 19,300), reported Edgeworth Economics in late November 2024. 

The Employment Policies Institute further reported that between September 2023 and June 2024 “total private sector fast-food employment nationwide grew 1.6 percent” but in California it declined 1.1 percent. And that decline was steeper than statewide private employment, which fell only 0.3 percent in that same period.

Citing the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, the EPI said the $20 minimum wage “shows crystal-clear negative employment consequences” and “unequivocal job losses.”

Economist Stephen G. Bronars, PhD, with Edgeworth Economics, commented, “The $20 minimum wage harms California’s least experienced workers by causing them to be more expensive, but no more productive, for limited-service restaurants that have traditionally hired young and inexperienced workers. Limited-service restaurants will replace employees with kiosks as businesses adapt to the higher minimum wage.”

California’s minimum wage law for fast-food workers is, like any such law, a price floor; it is a price control on labor. Employers and workers are not free to negotiate the wages they want; the government dictates the price. And this, as decades of evidence shows, puts people out of work. As Cato’s 2024 book The War on Prices explained, minimum wage laws only deliver “symbolic hope to the working poor” and “risk leaving many of the nation’s most vulnerable worse off.” 

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Should Defamation Lawsuits Exist?
next post
Biden says he’s leaving Trump ‘strong hand to play,’ defends his record on Afghanistan

You may also like

Stablecoin Bills Galore, but How Do They Stack...

February 27, 2025

Five Fiscal Truths

April 18, 2024

How Free Is Your State?

November 15, 2023

House Budget Committee Seeks to Reform Emergency Spending...

July 24, 2024

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics: A Misleading Study...

January 2, 2024

Leftist Victory in Mexico Puts Freedom at Risk

June 3, 2024

Argentina’s Paradigm Shift

November 21, 2023

Breaking Down Taiwan’s Arms Backlog, Part 1: Overview...

November 6, 2023

FCC Investigates Radio Station Over Coverage of Immigration...

February 11, 2025

ISO: U.S. Trade Policy for Countries Other Than...

September 1, 2023

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Elon Musk funds Democrats

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk jokes about reconsidering stance on Big Beautiful Bill after Schiff’s praise

      June 7, 2025
    • Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump and Epstein files

      June 7, 2025
    • House witness flips script on Dem who ambushed him during hearing with unearthed tweet: ‘Iceberg is ahead’

      June 7, 2025
    • Call with China’s Xi, and Trump-Musk exchange fueled barbs during 20th week in office

      June 7, 2025
    • Trump’s conservative allies warn Congress faces critical ‘test’ with $9.4B spending cut proposal

      June 7, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,152)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,568)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved