What Do You Call a Politician Whose First Instinct Is to Cut the Minimum Wage?

A Republican, like for example, California Gavin Newsom. 

This is not a surprise.  If you look at Newsom's actions throughout his time as  Governor, they have been all the same, overestimate the budget impact, overestimate state budget problems, and kill progressive initiatives that have passed the house.

He is doing this for the minimum wage increase for healthcare workers, attempting to roll back legislation that he has already passed.

His department of finance is claiming a $4 billion first year cost, when independent assessments place that at $300 million, and so he wants the law rewritten and neutered. (Gee only a 93% dfference)

I get it, hospitals, hospital lawyers, and hospital executives are major campaign donors.

To quote Emilio Estevez from Repo Man, "F%$# that."

With California facing an expected $68-billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking “major reforms” to pull funding from a costly plan next year to begin raising the statewide minimum wage for healthcare workers to $25 an hour.

Newsom told The Times last week that his staff has “been working behind the scenes” with Democratic leaders in the Legislature on how to move forward with the minimum wage law in light of state budget concerns. The changes, which would have to be approved by lawmakers next year, were “all part of an understanding” with labor leaders before he signed the bill, Newsom said.

F%$# his "Understanding."  The law was passed, the law was signed into law by him, and the amount is (from the accurate assessment of cost) just 0.4% of the deficit.

Are there no alternatives?  Nope:

………

The Legislative Analyst’s Office said conditions exist for Newsom to declare a fiscal emergency to dip into budget reserves to cover some of the shortfall. Analysts laid out other maneuvers that could be used to reduce the deficit, including saving $16.7 billion by reducing education funding under Proposition 98 to the constitutional minimum.

The state budget reserves are something north of $35 billion, but according Newsom, they are not to be touched, because, he really does not want a minimum wage increase, or setting a price cap on insulin, or banning caste discrimination, or the decriminalization of psychedelic drugs, or offering unemployment benefits to strikers, rolling back internet connectivity programs in poor neighborhoods (but not rich ones), homeless housing support, etc.  (Links from me about this here)

………

Laurel Lucia, director of the healthcare program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center, said a yet-to-be-published estimate by the university suggests the cost is closer to $300 million from the general fund in the first year — lower than the state’s prediction. The labor center developed the estimate based on the final law to help inform policymakers, she said.

Newsom said he was “resolved” that he couldn’t sign the bill into law without promises from key players that changes would be made in the legislative session that begins in January.

Tia Orr, executive director of Service Employees International Union California, said the financial health of the state is consistent with raising wages for 500,000 healthcare workers, nearly half of whom are on some form of public assistance.

Note that no one here is calculating the costs of 250,000 workers receiving public assistance, much of which would not be necessary with the minimum wage increase, because he does not care.

We do not need another neoliberal weasel on the national political scene.