Voters Hand Gov. Newsom First Statewide Minimum Wage Ballot Failure in California History

The failure of Proposition 32 marks the first time in California history that a statewide minimum wage ballot measure has failed. Proposition 32 would have increased the state minimum wage to $18 per hour.

This is huge. California voters said “no way” to another minimum wage increase, proving that the minimum wage is totally random, and was never intended to be anything other than an entry level wage for any industry.

Even working full time, $18 per hour totals $37,400 annually. In California, that’s still poverty level earning… because the cost of living in California is Marxist-level high.

The minimum wage in many California cities and industries is also higher than the new $18 per hour. As the Globe recently reported, “Currently, the minimum wage in San Francisco is $18.67 an hour, while West Hollywood has a $19.65 minimum wage. For fast food employees statewide, the minimum wage was raised to $20 an hour since April, although that endeavor has proved disastrous with over 5,400 jobs being lost so far as a result.”

Our economist friends at the Employment Policies Institute explain California’s minimum wage initiative loss in detail:

California voters rejected Proposition 32, a ballot initiative that would raise the statewide minimum wage to $18 an hour, by 50.8% to 49.2% The rejection marks the first time in California history that a statewide minimum wage ballot measure has failed.

The rejection comes on the heels of California’s $20 minimum wage law for fast food workers that has seen severe backlash from employees and business owners alike, and lead to a notable amount of business closures and job losses.

“Californians are sending Gavin Newsom and the SEIU a clear message: They’re sick of being lab rats for their pet projects,” said Rebekah Paxton, research director at the Employment Policies Institute. “Voters saw the devastating economic fallout of the $20 fast food minimum wage law, and for the first time in state history, voted against a statewide minimum wage hike.”

Some key details:

• After the implementation of the $20 minimum wage law, an EPI survey found that a majority of restaurants say they had raised menu prices (98%), reduced employee hours (89%), limited employee shift pick-up or overtime opportunities (73%) and reduced staff or consolidated positions (70%) as a result of the minimum wage law;
• Additionally, a majority of restaurants surveyed said in the next year they will have to raise menu prices (93%), reduce employee hours (87%), reduce staff or consolidate positions (74%), and limit employee shift pick-up or overtime opportunities (71%);
• The law has also led to a considerable drop in California’s fast food industry jobs shows the state is now down a net 4,400 jobs since January, when companies began sounding alarms about the new AB 1228 $20 minimum wage;
• The state has also seen the worst fast food job growth rate since the Great Recession;
• Governor Newsom and his allies at UC-Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Education called the law “modest” and said it had no real impact on workers, but EPI systematically debunked the study’s claims, showing the effect has been a net negative.

This is one of those come-to-Jesus moments that politicians hate – voters in California (in CALIFORNIA!) figured out the latest grift attempt between California Democrats and the SEIU.

Rejected. Buh Bye.