​House Democrat demands $50-per-hour federal minimum wage: 'Just do​ the math!'

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) argued on Monday that a $50-per-hour minimum wage is mathematically coherent.

At a debate for candidates vying for the late Dianne Feinstein's U.S. Senate seat, Lee tried to justify her demand that the U.S. government mandate that businesses pay their employees a minimum of $50 per hour.

"In the Bay Area, I believe it was the United Way that came out with a report very recently: $127,000 for a family of four is just barely enough to get by," Lee said. "Another survey very recently: $104,000 for a family of one — barely enough to get by ... because of the affordability crisis."

California's cost-of-living problems, especially in the Bay Area, are no secret. But how would Lee's proposal be paid for?

"Just do the math!" she argued.

The other two Democrats on stage — Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter — support minimum wages of between $20 and $25 per hour. The lone Republican, former MLB star Steve Garvey, however, delivered a reality check explaining why Lee's demand is counterproductive.

"If you look at what California has done to fast-food franchises right now: increasing the minimum wage to $20. Then what's going to happen? That's going to increase costs for hard-working Californians to go to a franchise," he pointed out. "Instead of a Big Mac for $9, it's going to be $15."

Indeed, California businesses have done the math.

Their calculations of the increased cost of labor from minimum-wage hikes show business owners must make a decision when the government forces them to raise wages: they pass along that cost to the consumer or reduce the size of their workforce to offset the payroll increase.

That is exactly what is happening in California right now after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed into law a bill forcing national fast-food chains that operate restaurants in California to raise their minimum wage to $20 per hour, effective April 1, 2024.

Pizza Hut operators responded to the law by announcing plans to eliminate their delivery driver workforce — thus laying off more than 1,000 employees — while McDonald's and Chipotle announced plans to offset the cost by raising menu prices.

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