Gavin Newsom’s Minimum-Wage Law Is Half-Baked

On April 1, California’s new law setting minimum wages for fast-food workers goes into effect. It’s a bewildering measure in several respects and, to put it charitably, its rollout hasn’t gone well. To put it less charitably, the effort has merged bad policy design, lack of accountability, conflicts of interest and spectacular political ineptitude.

Governor Gavin Newsom, who’s championed the initiative, is unperturbed. “This is nation-leading,” he says, “and I’m proud of that.” He shouldn’t be. California deserves better leadership than this.