The real minimum wage is, and will always be, zero.
No matter how often the Democratic Party talks about 'living wages' and no matter how many times they raise the minimum wage, they can never alter economic reality.
But Democrats are always insulated from the consequences of their ideology, so it's very easy for them to pretend to care about the poor without ever considering the damage their policies actually do to the poor.
A little over a year ago, California enacted a minimum wage hike for most fast food workers.
Except for those employed by Panera Bread, because their owners are buddies with Governor Gavin Newsom. They got an exemption, of course. See, it's so important that fast food workers are paid a 'living wage', unless their bosses rub elbows with the governor. Or something.
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But I digress.
Before the hike took effect last April, businesses like Chipotle warned of 'significant' price hikes for their food:
Chipotle customers in California should prepare for “significant” price hikes after the state recently approved minimum wage increases for fast food workers, one of the company’s top executives told shareholders this week.
Jack Hartung, Chipotle’s chief financial and administrative officer, told investors on an earnings call on Tuesday that the price hikes are necessary to keep up with increasing labor costs.
“We know we have to take something as a significant increase when you talk about a 20%-ish increase in wages,” Hartung said.
California’s new minimum wage law, which pays fast food workers $20 an hour, is set to go into effect in April.
And after the minimum wage hikes went into effect, many fast food workers found themselves on the unemployment line, either from layoffs or their businesses shuttering completely. Those who didn't get fired saw their hours slashed, and if they were fortunate enough to not be laid off or have their hours cut, pretty much every good or service they paid for got far more expensive than their state-sactioned raise.
Fast food chains find a way around $20 minimum wage: Get rid of the workerhttps://t.co/o8NLJItLBC pic.twitter.com/vXli3xdJWA
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) April 29, 2024
The Democratic supermajority responded to those layoffs by proposing a ban on self-checkouts at certain retailers (would Panera be exempt from that, too?).
So it's not a surprise to me that poorer Californians would vote against such policies. But it appears to be a surprise to some people:
In 2024, rich Californians voted to raise the minimum wage. Poor Californians voted against it.
— Zachary Donnini (@ZacharyDonnini) May 12, 2025
A wild chart below showing people voting against their own class interests. pic.twitter.com/mW8SakcB39
Rich Californians, like Democrats, do not feel the impact of their bleeding-heart votes. Rich Californians will not feel the impact of a 20% increase in their food. They do not get laid off from their job at McDonald's, and they don't have to worry about making ends meet on a 20-hour weekly schedule.
California's $20 minimum wage prompts fast food price increases pic.twitter.com/sfGOG9ecTU
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 18, 2024
Poorer Californians, however, do.
So to say those poorer Californians are 'voting against their own class interest' is denying reality: they're actually voting to preserve their jobs and their standard of living.
By rejecting minimum wage increases, they're also rejecting the layoffs, slashed hours, shuttered restaurants, and the increasingly expensive goods that always follow minimum wage hikes.
They deserve to have their voices heard, because they are the ones who live with the day-to-day reality of the policies Democrats and rich Californians pass to 'help' them. Because those policies don't help them.
And they are voting to protect their own class interest.
