![\"A](\"https:\/\/cdn.gobankingrates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/coronavirus-ppe-restaurant-iStock-1264166886-e1603998796233.jpg?w=675&quality=75\")
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Activists in California are saying that an $18 minimum wage across the state<\/a> could help end the labor shortage across the country, according to Business Insider. But could such a bold move truly boost economic growth<\/a> on a nationwide scale?<\/p>\n See: Costco, Amazon and 16 Other Companies That Raised Their Minimum Wage to $15 (or More)<\/a> A new ballot initiative, the Living Wage Act of 2022, would more than double California\u2019s minimum wage from $7.25 to $18 and hour, if passed. It could help roughly 5 million workers whose salaries have not kept pace with inflation<\/a> and economic growth across the stage. It could give these workers an extra $24 per day, Joe Sandberg told Business Inside. Sandberg is the activist and entrepreneur who filed the proposal. He noted the extra money could help families make rent and provide healthy food<\/a> for them.<\/p>\n Related: Why Isn\u2019t Salary Disclosed Earlier in the Recruiting Process? Here\u2019s What 500+ Hiring Managers Had To Say<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Other activists like Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage and director of the Food Labor Research Center at University of California \u2013 Berkley, agree with Sandberg, noting that the country is facing a \u201cwage shortage<\/a>,\u201d rather than a \u201clabor shortage\u201d right now. \u201cThe real solution to getting these workers to come back to work, and having the restaurant industry we had prior to the pandemic, is going to be getting people a permanent wage increase,\u201d Jayaraman told Business Insider.<\/p>\n However, change won\u2019t be immediate. The initiative needs one million signatures before it can even get on the ballot for a vote in November 2022. Then, the wage increase will phase in until it reaches $18 in 2026. Future increases will keep pace with inflation.<\/p>\n Under current legislation, California will raise the state\u2019s minimum wage<\/a> to $15 for every size company by 2023.<\/p>\n Learn: Minimum Wage Will Increase to $15 for Federal Workers in 2022 \u2014 How Worker Retention Could Improve<\/a> Sandberg told Business Insider that a California minimum wage hike<\/a> could \u201ccreate a positive ripple effect throughout the country.\u201d<\/p>\n More From GOBankingRates<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Find: How the Minimum Wage Changed Throughout the US in 2021<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Explore: What\u2019s the Difference Between SNAP and WIC? \u2014 How to Apply<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n