A Sad Third Anniversary for A Clear-Eyed Forecast

On August 30, 2019, the Wall Street Journal published a long, detailed, and frustrated editorial highlighting California's proposed bill "AB5" effectively banning self-employed work for Californians.

AB5 included a severe labor standard called the ABC Test that defined almost all work done by independent contractors as "misclassified." AB5 thereby subjected every employer using contract work for virtually any reason to harsh penalties and fines.

The WSJ editorial predicted all this damage, called it a "money grab" by the unions that were propelling it through the legislature, and called for the bill to be defeated.

The editorial ended with, "If you have a good gig going, you won't be able to keep it."

The California lLegislature and the Governor, Gavin Newsom, ignored this forecast and passed the bill.

The following three years brought economic confusion, slow job growth, giant fines on small businesses, capable specialists out of work, out-migration to other states, special exemptions for deep-pocket professions like law and accounting, and the destruction of at least a million solo professionals' self-employment.

New Jobs America salutes the Wall Street Journal for pointing out the disaster ahead. ##