The $15 minimum wage sweeping the nation might kill jobs — and that’s okay

Union and fast food workers play drums during a Oakland, Calif. demonstration Thursday in support of a proposal to raise the California minimum wage to $15 by 2022. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

This has been, it’s fair to say, an absolutely bonkers week for minimum wage hikes.

California decided to raise the state's floor to $15 an hour statewide by 2022. The biggest employer in Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, announced it was raising its minimum wage to $15 by 2021. Last night, New York State leaders cut a deal to get to $15 within three years in New York City and six years in Long Island and Westchester, and $12.50 within five years in the rest of the state. After a Montgomery County Council member announced a new $15 wage proposal Thursday as well, there are now about a dozen live $15 campaigns around the country.