California voters have rejected Prop 32, which would have raised the state’s minimum wage from $16 to $18.
With 100% of the ballots tallied, the measure was rejected by a 0.8% margin (50.8 - 49.2), according to the California Secretary of State’s office. The total vote difference for the proposition was 234,146.
I worked for minimum wage at $7.25, at a time when I didn’t have to pay my own living expenses. Anyway adjusted for inflation/CPI that would be $13. It wasn’t anywhere close to enough then, and it’s not enough now. I don’t have the math in front of me but if you factor rent into it, minimum wage should probably be around $25/hr for a true livable wage. As it stands now minimum wage is a poverty wage suitable for secondary income only.