Gavin Newsom’s carveout for wealthy donor Greg Flynn is being hailed as the governor’s “biggest blunder since French LaundryGate.” While the scandal shakes out, some key economic lessons should not escape attention.

This episode is fallout from Assembly Bill 1228, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Act) signed by Gov. Newsom last September. The bill mandates a $20-per-hour minimum wage for fast food establishments, with a key exception. One section of the bill mirrors the business model of Panera Bread, and establishments that bake bread would be exempt from the $20 minimum wage.

Greg Flynn, by some accounts a billionaire, owns 24 Panera outlets in California, along with Applebee’s, Taco Bell and so forth. As it turns out, Flynn went to the same high school as Newsom, and his company purchased the Carneros Inn from Newsom’s PlumpJack company. Flynn........

© Eurasia Review