In-N-Out and Golden Staters Criticized by Fast Food Minimum Wage in California
California’s fast food minimum wage law bloodbath continues, with low-cost burger empire In-N-Out forced to increase prices.
In Los Angeles, prices on the chain’s famous double-double burger combo are up almost 7% over last year, rising $0.76 to $11.44; San Francisco has seen the same combo reach $13.63.
And while there’s a lot of price increases happening — Chik-fil-A prices rose almost 11% between mid-February and mid-April, while Taco Bell prices have increased by 3% — there’s also a lot of job-cutting going on.
One local chain, fish taco palace Rubio’s California Grill, closed 48 locations in May and declared bankruptcy in June.
Even big chains like Pizza Hut are taking the same route.
The total impact? Nearly 10,000 jobs lost already, according to a Hoover Institution analysis.
And other franchise-based companies are reportedly moving towards automation more quickly.
None of this should be surprising.
Any 17-year-old fry cook could have predicted this outcome: Raise the cost of labor, and businesses have to pass on that cost to consumers or reduce their workforce (i.e., cut jobs).
This is exactly what’s happening, leading to a harder hit on everyday Americans.
Almost 80% of consumers in a recent survey consider fast food meals a luxury purchase.
When fast food jobs were low-paying, they were plentiful and accessible to anyone.
However, it’s unlikely that California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who championed the law, has much knowledge of that.
Good Time Gavin prefers the French Laundry.
Furthermore, the law is blatantly corrupt: it has a significant exemption specifically for Newsom’s billionaire friend Greg Flynn, who franchises numerous Panera locations — one of the few chains not affected by the wage increase mandate.
The law has only been in effect for a short time, yet it’s already negatively impacting workers and consumers alike.
If this trend continues, average Californians are likely to be severely affected in the end.
