California governor set to approve highest minimum wage

"California's governor is setting in motion the most populous state's climb toward the nation's highest statewide minimum wage of $15 an hour to take effect by 2022. Gov. Jerry Brown's bill signing on Monday, and a similar effort in New York, mark the most ambitious moves yet to close the national divide between rich and poor. Experts say other states may follow, given Congress' reluctance to act despite entreaties from President Barack Obama. ""I'm hoping that what happens in California will not stay in California but spread all across the country,"" the Democratic governor said last week as he announced his agreement with labor leaders. But Republicans and business groups warn that the move could cost thousands of jobs, while a legislative analysis puts the ultimate cost to taxpayers at $3.6 billion a year in higher pay for government employees."