What to Know: Other states are watching California to see how minimum wage hikes affect the economy. They’re not encouraged by what they see. “Start with San Francisco, which this July became the first major city in California to reach the $15 threshold. Economists from Harvard and Mathematica Policy Research identified a 14-percent increase in median-rated (3.5 stars) business closures following each previous $1 increase in the minimum wage,” writes Michael Saltsman in the Tallahassee Democrat. “The Bay Area experienced so many restaurant closures that one food industry writer called it a ‘death march.’” The TPPF Take: California’s minimum wage hike has had a real and measurable negative impact on its economy. “While California has a lot going for it, including its pleasant climate and proximity to Pacific Rim trading partners, it has some problems, too,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore, a former California assemblyman. “Along with a heavy regulatory environment, high minimum wages in California serve to discourage businesses from expanding, or even just staying in the state. More importantly, young workers seeking to gain experience are too often the first casualty of minimum wage laws.”

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