California’s Crazy ‘Fast Food’ Minimum Wage Takes Effect

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s higher minimum wage for fast-food workers takes effect Monday. On top of California’s already high $16 minimum wage, the minimum wage for fast-food workers will increase to $20 an hour, the highest minimum wage in the U.S.

Minimum-wage advocates parrot the claim that this is a win for fast-food workers. They cite a few studies to argue that those workers will earn more and suffer no job loss, and that poverty will fall. But a growing body of research demonstrates that the small number of studies advocates rely on are flawed.