The Politics of Wage

Last month, California became the first state in the nation to raise its minimum wage from $10 to $15 an hour by the year 2022. And that has a lot of folks wondering what effect such a hike will mean for both workers and businesses. It’s also highlighting a contrast of sorts, of two different Californias that are dealing with such an increase. More expensive big cities and coastal areas, where a hike won’t even start to keep up with cost-of-living… and exurban and more rural places where a wage increase can be a step up. In both kinds of places, it’s a dichotomy that’s dripping with local politics.