This is...uncomfortably exciting. I'm confident that in the Bay Area, a $15 minimum wage is both necessary (given the cost of housing) and sustainable (given the high-income folks who will keep frequenting businesses even as prices rise to support increased labor costs). In the state as a whole, I'll be very interested to see how it goes. Seems prudent that they have the gradual increase and safety mechanism built in.

This is going to backfire. Prices will rise. Jobs will leave the state. Unemployment will rise. Wages should be set by supply and demand for skills in the free market. Don't forget that there are many rural parts of the state where wages and cost of living are much lower than in the Bay Area. Businesses in those areas are going to be particularly hurt by this.

The effect of this high of MW will have little impact in Silicon Valley since very few workers earn below the MW in this area. However the Central Valley will get hit hard. Talk about wealth redistribution. Of course the unions support this nonsense since it gives them a competitive advantage in two ways. Their labor is relatively cheaper w a higher minimum and they are usually exempt themselves since they also negotiate non wage fringe benefits as part of total labor compensation.