One of the bill’s co-authors, Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, says that putting the state in charge of Californians’ care will deliver a “health care model that is affordable and accessible to all.” Assembly Member Ash Kalra agrees, saying that single-payer would “save lives” and “improve public health.”

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If the bill becomes law, it will be interesting to see how lawmakers react when their staff members walk off the job, demanding higher pay and better working conditions. What happens when they lose their secretaries, counselors, encyclopedias, personal assistants, and, as has been documented in several recent cases, easy targets for sexual harassment? Getting a taste of what the private sector has to deal with through contract negotiations, which governments have tilted in favor of organized labor, might not be so sweet.

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Lance Izumi joined the Vicki McKenna Show on WISN Madison to share his latest work on school re-openings, online learning, and what the rest of the nation can learn from California’s school re-opening failures. McKenna and Izumi go into detail about his new education brief, why charter and private schools have opened early, and what the spring will look like for students and parents.

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California’s war on natural gas is a bit further along. More than 40 cities “have adopted building codes to reduce their reliance on gas,” says the Sierra Club, many of them outright forbidding natural gas connections in new building construction. This is considered to be “leadership.” Many see it as an absurdity.

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Of course, not all workers will lose their jobs. Many others will remain employed and, if their hours are not reduced, they will earn more money. But, even these workers will not benefit by the full value of the minimum wage increase. As the financials of the average small retailer detailed above demonstrate, if workers are earning more money, then this additional money will significantly harm profitability unless the retailer increases prices.

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