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Opinion: California restaurant closings show true minimum wage is $0 an hour

Photo/Mark Abramson/The New York Times / Jonathan Ortiz works in the kitchen at Charcoal Sunset, a restaurant in West Hollywood where staffing has gone from around 50 to 35, on Dec. 12, 2023. The owner is wondering about his future in the city.
Photo/Mark Abramson/The New York Times / Jonathan Ortiz works in the kitchen at Charcoal Sunset, a restaurant in West Hollywood where staffing has gone from around 50 to 35, on Dec. 12, 2023. The owner is wondering about his future in the city. Photo/Mark Abramson/The New York Times / Jonathan Ortiz works in the kitchen at Charcoal Sunset, a restaurant in West Hollywood where staffing has gone from around 50 to 35, on Dec. 12, 2023. The owner is wondering about his future in the city.

By The Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board (TNS) 3 min read

President Ronald Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'” California Gov. Gavin Newsom keeps proving him right.

Last September, Newsom signed a bill mandating a $20 per hour minimum wage for fast-food workers. The requirement went into effect in April. It also created a fast-food regulatory council, which has the power to raise fast-food workers’ minimum wage each year.

“What’s good for workers is good for business, and as California’s fast food industry continues booming every single month, our workers are finally getting the pay they deserve,” Newsom said in an August statement.

Newsom should quit eating at the French Laundry and go visit some fast-food restaurants.

The legislation contributed to California restaurants cutting around 9,500 jobs between September 2023 and January 2024, according to the Hoover Institution. This was a 1.3% reduction. These problems have continued since the law went into effect in April.