Not always helpful

If, as posited by US Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandis, “States are the laboratories of democracy,” we should understand that not all such “laboratory experiments” have positive results.

In fact, some states produce some truly half-baked ideas and become known as “bad-idea factories.”

Take, for instance, California’s recently implemented $20 minimum wage mandate which was, one assumes, intended to provide increased wages and therefore a better standard of living to the recipients.

However, sadly, government directed wage controls usually fail because politicians simply cannot override or nullify basic economic law.

Therefore, and not unsurprisingly, California’s politically-inspired mandate not only did not provide increased wages but, instead, through automation, caused the elimination of 18,000 fast-food jobs in less than a year, thereby demonstrating that certain progressive polices, however well-intentioned, frequently harm the very people that they are intended to help.

Nonetheless, such wage mandates will likely reach well beyond California whereby many labor-intensive companies are now demonstrating renewed interest in automated kiosks which, of course, reduces the need for workers.

Led by trail blazers Panera Bread and McDonald’s, several other chains, including Burger King, Popeyes and Taco Bell, are automating their operations and it would appear that this concept is here to stay.

And, of course, further impacting low-wage workers employed in the fast-food industry beyond those in California.

Therefore, once again, California leads the way and, once again, not necessarily in the right direction and so, Washington State, with your minimum wage even greater California’s, better take note!

Dick Pilling

Port Angeles