California minimum wage hike driving apparel companies from state

You pass a law that business must pay far more for a certain thing than the thing is worth, or that they can possibly recoup the value of that thing. What exactly do you think the businesses are going to do? Just take it up the rump and absorb the losses? Or find a way to do business without having to follow your mandate? If there's a way to do the latter, they will. And for garment makers who have served as major employers and a staple of the Los Angeles area economy for years, even the Los Angeles Times admits California's new $15-an-hour minimum wage has them bolting the state:

"The exodus has begun," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Cal State Channel Islands and a former director at Forever 21. "The garment industry is gradually shrinking and that trend will likely continue."