Keith and stuff
12-02-2013, 02:36 PM
Conservative Leads Effort to Raise Minimum Wage in California
By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: November 25, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/us/conservative-leads-effort-to-raise-minimum-wage-in-california.html
Not happy with the CA min. wage only going to $10 in 2016 as CA law calls for, famous CA conservative Ron Unz, want to increase it to $12.
But after decades in the conservative movement, Mr. Unz is pursuing a goal that has stymied liberals: raising the minimum wage. He plans to pour his own money into a ballot measure to increase the minimum wage in California to $10 an hour in 2015 and $12 in 2016, which would make it by far the highest in the nation. Currently, it is $8 — 75 cents higher than the federal minimum.
Earlier this year, Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2016. The California Chamber of Commerce labeled the bill a “job killer” and said that such a large increase would raise the unemployment rate and put the state’s precarious economic recovery at risk. A spokeswoman for the group declined to comment on Mr. Unz’s proposal on Monday.
Mr. Unz brushes aside such criticism, saying the size of California’s economy — which, at roughly $1.9 trillion, is bigger than most countries’ — would prevent any large-scale movement of jobs to other states. Instead, he argues, it presents the best test case for the kind of national minimum wage increase he has advocated for years.
Here are the really ironic parts.
He went on to become publisher of The American Conservative, a libertarian-leaning magazine.
Mr. Unz entered politics in 1994 as a challenger to Gov. Pete Wilson for the Republican nomination, at one point accusing Mr. Wilson of being a closet Democrat.
While unions have backed similar voter initiatives in San Jose and Long Beach, Calif., labor officials are now focused on permanently tying the minimum wage to the rate of inflation, and said the measure Mr. Unz is proposing could be a distraction. Steve Smith, a spokesman for the California Labor Federation, was hardly enthusiastic when informed of Mr. Unz’s plans.
By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: November 25, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/us/conservative-leads-effort-to-raise-minimum-wage-in-california.html
Not happy with the CA min. wage only going to $10 in 2016 as CA law calls for, famous CA conservative Ron Unz, want to increase it to $12.
But after decades in the conservative movement, Mr. Unz is pursuing a goal that has stymied liberals: raising the minimum wage. He plans to pour his own money into a ballot measure to increase the minimum wage in California to $10 an hour in 2015 and $12 in 2016, which would make it by far the highest in the nation. Currently, it is $8 — 75 cents higher than the federal minimum.
Earlier this year, Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10 an hour in 2016. The California Chamber of Commerce labeled the bill a “job killer” and said that such a large increase would raise the unemployment rate and put the state’s precarious economic recovery at risk. A spokeswoman for the group declined to comment on Mr. Unz’s proposal on Monday.
Mr. Unz brushes aside such criticism, saying the size of California’s economy — which, at roughly $1.9 trillion, is bigger than most countries’ — would prevent any large-scale movement of jobs to other states. Instead, he argues, it presents the best test case for the kind of national minimum wage increase he has advocated for years.
Here are the really ironic parts.
He went on to become publisher of The American Conservative, a libertarian-leaning magazine.
Mr. Unz entered politics in 1994 as a challenger to Gov. Pete Wilson for the Republican nomination, at one point accusing Mr. Wilson of being a closet Democrat.
While unions have backed similar voter initiatives in San Jose and Long Beach, Calif., labor officials are now focused on permanently tying the minimum wage to the rate of inflation, and said the measure Mr. Unz is proposing could be a distraction. Steve Smith, a spokesman for the California Labor Federation, was hardly enthusiastic when informed of Mr. Unz’s plans.