{"id":2319855,"date":"2024-08-06T07:54:02","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T11:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ca-fast-food-restaurants-raised-prices-due-to-min-wage-hike\/"},"modified":"2024-08-06T08:02:32","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T12:02:32","slug":"ca-fast-food-restaurants-raised-prices-due-to-min-wage-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ca-fast-food-restaurants-raised-prices-due-to-min-wage-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"CA Fast-Food Restaurants Raised Prices Due To Min. Wage Hike"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fca-fast-food-restaurants-raised-prices-due-to-min-wage-hike%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2319855&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u2062 recounts\u200c a recent trip\u2062 to southern California that highlighted the author&#8217;s\u200b experience with the high\u2063 cost \u200cof food, attributing these steep prices to California&#8217;s new $20 \u2064minimum wage for fast-food workers. The author details specific instances of sticker shock, such as paying \u200cover $10 for a McDonald&#8217;s meal and nearly $27 \u2064for \u2063a kebab plate. This wage increase has led to significant\u200d consequences for businesses, including the\u2064 closure \u200bof\u200b restaurants, cutting of \u200cemployees&#8217; hours, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chipotle-says-menu-prices-could-increase-if-minimum-wage-hike-imposed\/\" title=\"Chipotle Says Menu Prices Could Increase If Minimum Wage Hike Imposed\">raising menu prices<\/a>. A\u200d survey \u2063indicated that a vast majority of restaurant owners expect increased \u200bcosts resulting from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-blue-state-claw-back\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Blue State Claw Back\">minimum wage hike<\/a> and\u200d have\u200b already adjusted prices\u200d or reduced staff \u200din response. Despite\u200b these challenges, politicians like Governor Gavin Newsom portray the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shapiro-debunking-the-15-minimum-wage\/\" title=\"SHAPIRO: Debunking The  Minimum Wage\">minimum wage law<\/a> as successful,\u2063 which\u2062 contrasts\u200b sharply with \u200cthe \u200ddire realities faced\u2063 by \u2063local businesses and workers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A recent trek to southern California brought not only a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/18\/this-game-show-legend-will-be-honored-with-a-new-postage-stamp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trip down memory lane<\/a> for this writer but also a case of sticker shock. Consider just some of the expenses that busted my food budget: $10.71 for a McDonald&rsquo;s McMuffin meal; $15.93 for a steak burrito (without sides) at Baja Fresh; and $26.44 for a kebab plate and baklava from a <a href=\"https:\/\/zankouchicken.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">local Middle Eastern chain<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These high prices represent one logical result of California&rsquo;s disastrous mandate to impose a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/25\/californias-disastrous-minimum-wage-hike-offers-a-cautionary-tale-to-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$20 minimum wage<\/a> on workers in fast-food restaurants. At a time when Americans across the country continue to <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/17\/persistent-bidenflation-explains-why-americans-think-the-economy-is-poor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suffer the ill effects<\/a> of &ldquo;Bidenflation,&rdquo; Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/11\/17\/california-governor-breaks-his-own-covid-rules-to-eat-fancy-french-food-while-americans-go-hungry-in-lockdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">French Laundry<\/a>, has imposed yet another higher cost on residents of, and visitors to, the Golden State.<\/p>\n<h2>Employers Cutting Hours &mdash; and Workers<\/h2>\n<p>It stands to reason that imposing a 25 percent increase on businesses&rsquo; labor costs would have undesirable effects. Sure enough, a <a href=\"https:\/\/epionline.org\/app\/uploads\/2024\/07\/2024-06-California-Limited-Service-Restaurant-Operator-Survey-Final-Booklet.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recent survey<\/a> of limited-service restaurants undertaken by the Employment Policies Institute demonstrates the damage to California establishments and workers.<\/p>\n<p>Among the businesses surveyed, two-thirds (67 percent) believe the new mandate will cost at least $100,000 per restaurant, with more than one-quarter (26 percent) claiming the law will impose at least $200,000 in costs. Unsurprisingly, just about all of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nearly-all-san-francisco-restaurants-vandalized-in-past-month-survey\/\" title=\"Most San Francisco restaurants vandalized in past month: Survey.\">restaurant owners surveyed<\/a> (98 percent) said they had raised prices in response. Nearly 9 in 10 (89 percent) said they had reduced employee hours, with large majorities also claiming they would restrict overtime (73 percent) and trim down their staff or merge positions (70 percent).<\/p>\n<p>Owners also responded that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-romney-cotton-minimum-wage-plan-is-anti-conservative-and-embraces-the-logic-of-the-left\/\" title=\"The Romney\/Cotton Minimum Wage Plan Is Anti-Conservative And Embraces The Logic Of The Left\">higher minimum wage<\/a> would &ldquo;somewhat&rdquo; (50 percent) or &ldquo;significantly&rdquo; (25%) reduce employee counts and &ldquo;significantly increase&rdquo; menu prices (73 percent). Furthermore, &ldquo;Ninety-two percent of owners think that raising menu prices will adversely affect customer foot traffic.&rdquo; These entrepreneurs also thought the mandate would make them &ldquo;significantly less likely&rdquo; to expand in California (73 percent), and more likely to expand outside the state &mdash; or shut down altogether.<\/p>\n<p>A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/california-mcdonalds-wendys-fast-food-minimum-wage-59dde9b19e411279f744e44439872c7a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Associated Press story<\/a> provided plenty of anecdotes to go with the survey data about the law&rsquo;s harmful effects:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n[Lawrence]  Cheng used to have nearly a dozen employees on the afternoon shift at his Fountain Valley [Wendy&rsquo;s] location in Orange County. Now he only schedules seven for each shift as he scrambles to absorb a dramatic jump in labor costs after a new California law boosted the hourly wage for fast food workers on April 1 from $16 to $20 an hour. &ldquo;We just kind of cut where we can,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I schedule one less person and then I come in for that time that I didn&rsquo;t schedule and I work that hour.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Cheng said he raised menu prices by roughly 8 percent in January to account for the effects of the impending mandate, yet he still has to cut hours to keep his business afloat. Ditto a Jersey Mike&rsquo;s franchisee, who raised the price of a turkey sub to $11.15, yet has also cut his employee count from 165 to 145 across his nine stores.<\/p>\n<h2>Vacation from Reality<\/h2>\n<p>Despite the obvious harms being inflicted on workers and businesses, Democrat elites continue to advertise the minimum wage law as a success. Newsom has attacked The Wall Street Journal&rsquo;s editorials criticizing the minimum wage mandate, claiming that employment in limited-service restaurants has increased since the mandate took effect in April. But the Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/fast-food-economics-in-la-la-land-f54cf3e2?mod=opinion_lead_pos2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">recently noted<\/a> that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, employment in affected industries has actually declined, while limited-service restaurant employment in neighboring Nevada has risen.<\/p>\n<p>And the costs of the mandate are easy for Newsom to dismiss. As the Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/california-minimum-wage-fast-food-plumpjack-cafe-gavin-newsom-d191c087?mod=opinion_feat1_editorials_pos3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pointed out<\/a> earlier this year, a branch of the wine shop Newsom founded advertised for a vacant busboy position paying $16 hourly &mdash; not the $20 required for fast-food workers under the law he signed.<\/p>\n<p>During my SoCal sojourn, I marveled at California&rsquo;s inherent advantages &mdash; gorgeous scenery, beautiful weather, and a can-do spirit that made Silicon Valley the envy of the world. Yet Democrat policies such as the $20 minimum wage, the &ldquo;net zero&rdquo; climate obsession ($6 per gallon of gas, anyone?), and unaffordable housing continue to drive residents away in droves. Even as I enjoyed my time at the beach, I couldn&rsquo;t help but wonder when Newsom and his left-wing Democrat colleagues will end their own vacation &mdash; from reality &mdash; and finally bring the Golden State back into the economic mainstream.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Chris Jacobs is founder and CEO of Juniper Research Group, a policy consulting firm based in Washington, and author of the book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1645720020\">The Case Against Single Payer<\/a>.&#8221; He appeared in the 1995 &#8220;Jeopardy!&#8221; Teen Tournament and is on Twitter: <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/chrisjacobsHC\">@chrisjacobsHC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent visit to Southern California not only evoked nostalgia for this writer but also resulted in a shocking realization about food prices. For instance, I spent $10.71 on a McDonald&#8217;s McMuffin meal, $15.93 on a steak burrito (without sides) at Baja Fresh, and $26.44 for a kebab plate and baklava from a local Middle Eastern restaurant. These steep prices are a direct consequence of California&#8217;s problematic decision to enforce a $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers. While Americans nationwide continue to grapple with the repercussions of &#8220;Bidenflation,&#8221; Governor Gavin Newsom has added yet another financial burden on both residents and visitors in the Golden State.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s logical that imposing such a significant increase in labor costs would lead to negative outcomes for businesses. A recent survey by the Employment Policies Institute revealed the detrimental impact of this mandate on California&#8217;s restaurants and their employees. Among those surveyed, 67% believe that complying with the new law will cost each restaurant at least $100,000, with over 25% estimating costs of at least $200,000. Almost all restaurant owners (98%) reported raising menu prices as a response; nearly 90% indicated they had cut employee hours, while large numbers also planned to limit overtime (73%) or reduce staff through position consolidation (70%). <\/p>\n<p>Additionally, many owners stated that the increased minimum wage would likely lead to &#8220;somewhat&#8221; (50%) or &#8220;significantly&#8221; (25%) fewer employees and would &#8220;significantly increase&#8221; menu prices (73%). A staggering 92% believed that raising menu prices would negatively affect customer traffic. Many entrepreneurs expressed that they were now &#8220;significantly less likely&#8221; (73%) to expand within California and more inclined either to grow outside the state or shut down entirely.<\/p>\n<p>An Associated Press article provided anecdotal evidence supporting these findings: Lawrence Cheng used to have nearly twelve employees during afternoon shifts at his Wendy\u2019s location in Fountain Valley but has since reduced scheduling to seven due to rising labor costs after California raised fast-food workers&#8217; wages from $16 to $20 per hour on April 1st. He mentioned having raised menu prices by about 8% earlier this year but still needed to cut hours just to keep his business viable\u2014similar circumstances were echoed by other franchise owners.<\/p>\n<p>Despite clear evidence of harm being done both economically and socially due to these policies, Democratic leaders continue touting the minimum wage law as successful; Newsom even criticized The Wall Street Journal\u2019s editorials against it by claiming employment in limited-service restaurants had risen since its implementation in April\u2014though data shows otherwise when adjusted seasonally.<\/p>\n<p>The financial implications seem easy for Newsom and others like him dismiss; earlier this year it was noted that one branch of his wine shop was advertising busboy positions paying only $16 an hour\u2014not meeting the mandated rate for fast-food workers under his own legislation.<\/p>\n<p>During my time in Southern California, I appreciated its natural beauty\u2014stunning landscapes and pleasant weather\u2014but couldn&#8217;t ignore how policies like the high minimum wage law alongside climate initiatives leading gas prices up ($6 per gallon) contribute significantly toward driving residents away from what once was an attractive place living-wise due largely because housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable too! Even while enjoying beach time there lingered thoughts about when Newsom along with fellow Democrats might finally return from their apparent detachment from reality so as restore economic stability back into Golden State life again! <\/p>\n<p>Chris Jacobs is founder\/CEO Juniper Research Group\u2014a policy consulting firm based out Washington\u2014and author \u201cThe Case Against Single Payer.\u201d He appeared during \u201cJeopardy!\u201d Teen Tournament back \u201995 &amp; can be found tweeting @chrisjacobsHC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":2319856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/California-Whopper-from-Flickr.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[37312,37314,32421,33687,37313],"class_list":["post-2319855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-ca-fast-food","tag-california-economy","tag-minimum-wage","tag-price-increase","tag-restaurant-industry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/California-Whopper-from-Flickr.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2319855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/521"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2319855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2319855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2319856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2319855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2319855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2319855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}