Big Macs could cost $15 thanks to minimum wage hikes: analyst

The decision by states in half the country to hike their minimum wage could send the price of fast-food staples like a McDonald’s Big Mac soaring to $15 in those states, according to an economic analyst.

Brandon Arnold, executive vice president of the fiscally conservative think tank the National Taxpayers Union, pointed to California’s decision to mandate that employees at fast food restaurants be paid at least $20 an hour as a troubling sign.

Companies are “either gonna have to raise prices, start to reduce those labor costs or a combination of both,” Arnold...