by Alfredo Ortiz
The American job market has significantly downshifted as consumers, who drive the economy, are tapped out from the ongoing cost-of-living crisis under the Biden-Harris administration.
According to Friday’s employment report, only 115,000 jobs were created in July (67,000 using the more accurate household survey).
That’s well below expectations and the recent average. More than two-thirds of new jobs were created in the unproductive government or quasi-government healthcare and social services sectors of the economy. There are now 1.3 million more unemployed Americans than last year.
The job market in general and entry-level jobs in particular would be significantly threatened by a Kamala Harris presidency. She has long supported tax hikes and big government labor and environmental regulations that make it more difficult for small businesses to survive, thrive and create jobs.
Observe the consequences of California’s recent $20 fast food minimum wage — $160 a day! This mandate has caused business closures, workforce reductions, and massive price increases in the state.
Harris is part of the San Francisco liberal political machine that has long supported such radical wage mandates, dubbing them a “fight for fairness, freedom, opportunity, and more.” There is no doubt that if elected she would take this anti-small business, anti-worker policy from her home state nationwide.
A new Employment Policies Institute survey finds that nearly all California fast-food establishments have had to reduce employee hours due to the new wage floor. That means employees are making less overall than before the wage hike took effect.
One Bay Area McDonald’s franchisee we interviewed on our Main Street Matters podcast says he has had to make many hard choices because of the law. These include moving more restaurant orders to kiosks, mobile and curbside pickup to reduce labor costs.
Pizza Hut recently announced it will lay off more than a thousand delivery drivers. One affected driver, Michael Ojeda, asked, “What’s the point of a raise if you don’t have a job?”
Restaurants have also had to significantly raise prices to the point where working-class folks in the state can no longer afford fast food. For instance, a regular Chick-fil-A meal now costs $20, and a Double Whopper meal at Burger King costs $17.
In June, Rubio’s Coastal Grill filed for bankruptcy and closed 48 restaurants due to the minimum wage hike’s added costs. Larger chains such as Chipotle have invested in automation, including robots to make burrito bowls.
These predictable consequences are just the latest example of big government policies losing the fight against basic economic principles.
Americans must protect entry-level jobs from radical leftists like Vice President Kamala Harris. These positions train the American workforce and provide young adults with the hard and soft skills they need to get positions that pay far more.
Call it a Fight for $50,000 a year careers — something all Americans can agree on.
Young voters who want to preserve their after-school job opportunities and all Americans who want to keep fast food affordable should hold Harris accountable.
Revitalizing the American labor market requires conservative, pro-growth policies that don’t put onerous government regulations between employers and employees. As the Golden State shows, dramatic minimum wage hikes hurt the people they intend to help.
– – –
Alfredo Ortiz is CEO of Job Creators Network, author of “The Real Race Revolutionaries,” and co-host of the Main Street Matters podcast.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
