During the draconian COVID lockdowns, which here in California lasted almost two years, I was forced out of my Subway habit, and my occasional Taco Bell run for a gordita was stopped in its tracks. I try to eat decently because I ain’t getting any younger and want to keep that belly in check, but I’m not above some crunchy Popeye’s chicken and biscuits with honey now and then.

Oops. I ended up making myself hungry.

I’ll get to the point—I had a yen for a burger today, so I swung around to our local drive-through and ordered me up a nice California Classic, with bacon, of course—I’m not a heathen—and some fries and a drink. I’ve been aware—and written about—the Golden State’s controversial fast food minimum wage law, forced through the almost-entirely Democratic legislature and signed by radical socialist Gov. Gavin Newsom, but hadn’t yet experienced the new reality for myself.

And that reality was ugly.

To wit: one burger, one side of fries, and one drink cost me… $17.25. Are you freaking kidding me? I have exactly one wife, and four kids, and we used to stop at fast food joints, especially when we were on road trips. But what if we each got a meal now? It would be a whopping $103.50 simply to grab what used to be a quick budget bite.

Thanks, Bidenflation, and thanks, Gavin Newsom. Between the two, you’ve made it virtually impossible to enjoy what was once considered a great American innovation, fast food. Its beginnings are generally credited to the venerable company White Castle, which in 1921 started the first chain in Kansas, selling burgers for five cents. Now, a hundred and some years later, our betters seem intent on wiping out the industry.

You might say, oh, you’re being dramatic. It costs a little more, get over yourself. But here’s the reality—I’m reasonably comfortable, though I don’t own a yacht—yet I will not visit that burger joint (or any other) any time soon. I specifically picked it because I thought to myself, we’ve lived in this neighborhood for 11 years, yet I’ve never given this chain a chance. I should support a local business.

I’m not going to name the chain, because they’re all in the same boat and there’s no reason to single them out, but that’s it—sayonara, game over, love you mean it. I have no desire to punish them, because it’s not their fault, but I’m simply not going to shell out twenty bucks for a mediocre burger. (It also seemed a little petite—more shrinkflation?)

And this is what’s going to happen. California already has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, and this ill-advised “progressive” law is probably only going to lead to more joblessness as companies try to stop the bleeding by shedding staff, turning to automation, and raising prices. Folks like me will show up less at the drive-through, and lower-income people will simply give it up altogether. Many locations will close, as we’ve seen already, and a Happy Meal will cause severe unhappiness in those who choose to get one.

My burger was fine—not great, but fine. For eight or nine dollars, I might have been like, ok, fine, that was a nice splurge. But for $17.50? Hell no.

The problem lies not just with Bidenflation but also with California’s recent new fast food law which set the new minimum wage for workers at $20 an hour. Not surprisingly, the law has led to higher prices and layoffs for the very workers it was supposed to help:

See:

Like AB5, CA's Fast-Food Minimum Wage Hike Results in Layoffs, Closures, and Higher Prices

Newsom's CA: Fast Food Employee Starts Work Day Only to Find Out She's Out of a Job Thanks to New Law

Restaurants for months have said menu prices in California would rise as the state raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers. Now they are following through
Consumers picking up burgers, burritos and chicken sandwiches at chains in the Golden State are grappling with prices… pic.twitter.com/ddEKbu1yyP

— Mike Netter (@nettermike) April 28, 2024

I don’t want to punish the restaurants—they have to raise prices just to cover the costs. That being said, I’m far from the only Californian who will avoid fast food lunches like the plague. It’s yet another radical leftist policy out of Sacramento that seems designed to make our quality of life worse.

But before you say, “Who cares about California?” and “Forget those commies,” I remind you, as I always do, that what starts here spreads. Neighboring states are surely taking note and making their own plans. Granted, states with strong Republican leadership like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' are unlikely to let something like this see the light of day, but blue and purple states often see what they’re doing on the left coast and then copy it.

In the meantime, no more Taco Bell for me.

More:

Why California Matters—to YOU 

The Heart of Patriotism Beats Loudly—Even in Deep Blue California