I would be very surprised if California Gov. Jerry Brown shopped at Walmart, but that doesn’t preclude Gov. Moonbeam from reading news that concerns Walmart.
In his recent State of the State address Brown came out strongly opposed to efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Brown explained his opposition by pointing out California doesn’t have the power to unilaterally change the structure of the labor market: "Here at the state Capitol we often think we have more control over things than we actually do. But the truth is that global events, markets and policies set the pace and shape the world we live in. The challenge is to solve today's problems without making those of tomorrow even worse.”
This is where Walmart comes into the picture. The giant retailer recently canceled plans for two stores in Washington, D.C., after leftist Democrat politicians there threatened to jump on the wage-jump bandwagon and impose expensive new rules on scheduling hourly workers and parental leave. (You can read complete details of the decision courtesy of fellow Insider Michael Shannon by clicking
here.)
If $15 per hour is bad enough for Walmart, it’s bad enough to deter hundreds of other businesses from coming to or expanding in California. A fact of which Brown is already aware.
As he pointed out in his speech, the current California minimum of $10 per hour is already 38 percent higher than the federal minimum, and its imposition has cost California taxpayers millions in direct costs. During a news conference reported by the Washington Examiner Brown explained, “Raise the minimum wage too much and you put a lot of poor people out of work. There won't be a lot of jobs. It's a matter of balance."
So far California has been hit with $250 million in added wage costs. To jump another $5 would mean a budget–busting $4 billion annually in extra cost for taxpayers.
Of course reality is a foreign concept to “activists” ready to spend someone else’s money.
The Examiner quotes Neil Sroka, spokesman for the Howard Dean-founded nonprofit group Democracy for America as dismissing the governor’s view, “Gov. Brown can have his opinion and the people of California can have theirs.”
California unions are sponsoring two minimum wage initiatives with a $15 goal.
Fortunately for California businesses — those still hardy enough to make a profit there — only one can be on the ballot in November.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.