A really BFD

It's hard to stress enough how big of a deal this really is--Gov. Jerry Brown of California reached a deal with his state's labor unions to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.

California is home to 40 million Americans and has the largest economy of any U.S. state and ranks eighth in the world.  While the outcome of such a raise in wages is unknown at this point, if it works you can bet that it will carry over to the rest of the country.

And if the rest of the country doesn't follow?  My guess is California's ability to attract the best the brightest will only grow.

Open up that Golden Gate, indeed.

Peace,
emaycee

Open up that golden gate

Watching the republicans this week show yet again how little of a shit they give about the American people as they do everything in their power to shut the government down, and feeling the frustration that so many Americans feel with republicans complete and total inability to lead or to govern, it was nice to see this piece by Digby showing that when you elect sane people as they did in California over the last couple of election cycles, government can get good things done for the American people.

From immigration reform to sensible gun control, from balancing their budget to leading America in jobs created, from allowing gay marriage to protecting a woman's right to choose, California is leading the way for the rest of America.

And with demographics being what they are (lots of old white people dying, lots of Latinos turning 18), it's only a matter of time before more and more of America is seeing the same results as those in California.

California I'm coming home indeed.

Peace,
emaycee