California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) announced that beginning January 1, 2027, the state will increase its minimum wage to $17.40 an hour.
“For years, Donald Trump and Republicans have blocked efforts to raise the federal minimum wage while handing tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations,” Newsom said in a statement. “California has chosen a different path — one that rewards work, grows the economy, and puts working families first. We believe if you work hard, you deserve a decent paycheck. They think $7.25 an hour is enough. We don’t.”
Newsom’s office praised in a press release that the state’s increase is “nearly two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage.” His office argued that the state’s minimum wage makes the state “more affordable” and is “good for business.”
Despite these claims, numerous businesses have closed in California following the state’s previous $20 minimum wage hike for fast-food workers.
Discussing California’s minimum wage increase, congressional candidate Scott Meyers told the New York Post, “Governor Gavin Newsom pointlessly references the low federal minimum wage in an effort to display his own virtue of raising our minimum wage to $17.40.”
“He cleverly omits that the federal minimum wage has zero relevance in the state of California. Moreover, from Taco Bell, all the way up to Whole Foods, businesses will adjust and have customers interact increasingly with self service checkouts as they have already done,” Meyers explained. “The more the minimum wage is, the less entry-level employees there will be. This helps nobody. It actually harms. Gavin knows this.”
A recent report has also ranked California as the nation’s least affordable state.
