WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.839 An insane new law from California Democrat politicians just went 2 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:10.160 into effect, creating a minimum wage for goat herding. Goat 3 00:00:10.199 --> 00:00:13.000 herders are now going to earn Are you ready for this? 4 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:17.960 A quarter million dollars each per year under this new 5 00:00:18.039 --> 00:00:23.280 minimum wage. I'm not making this up. It's really coming up. 6 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:26.120 I'll tell you all about the law and why it 7 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:31.559 reflects the insanity and the extremism of today's Democrat politician 8 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:45.840 in California. Perfect textbook example of why Democrats know nothing 9 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:49.640 about how to manage an economy. Their ideas sound nice 10 00:00:49.679 --> 00:00:55.280 on paper and practice higher costs, fewer jobs, a worse 11 00:00:56.359 --> 00:00:59.079 environment for us all. I'm Carl Demio, chairman of Reform 12 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:01.679 California in a California state representative, and I never thought 13 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:04.920 I'd be talking about a minimum wage for goat herders. 14 00:01:05.560 --> 00:01:08.719 But this is a big deal. Let me give you 15 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:11.319 this headline. We can just get right into it. Goat 16 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:16.280 herders are about to get a massive salary increase. Oh 17 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:20.359 but there's a catch. After this law goes into effect, 18 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:24.000 if it stays in effect, there will be no goat 19 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:27.519 goat herding in the state of California. Here's the headline, 20 00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:31.120 California relies on goats to combat fires. A wage change 21 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:35.879 threatens the industry. So what happened was Assembly Built ten 22 00:01:35.959 --> 00:01:39.719 sixty six was passed about fifteen years ago, and it 23 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:44.439 basically was backed by the labor unions. They said farm 24 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:47.599 workers weren't being paid enough money, and so for overtime 25 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:50.319 and minimum wage, this law needs to go into effect 26 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:52.359 to make sure all of the farm workers are getting 27 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.599 more money. Now you know my point of view on 28 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:59.400 minimum wage and labor and our standards. I believe the 29 00:01:59.439 --> 00:02:03.239 market should regulate that, not government. Government when it gets involved, 30 00:02:03.439 --> 00:02:08.280 usually creates higher costs and the result is lower numbers 31 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:12.120 of jobs. It just decimates industries, and of course you 32 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:18.080 pay a higher cost. This law on goat herding is 33 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.439 a perfect example of my argument as to why minimum 34 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:25.039 wages typically hurt people who are trying to earn money. 35 00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:30.520 Assembly Build ten sixty six regulates farm worker earnings, but 36 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:34.919 there was an exemption put in years ago for goat herding. 37 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:38.240 Sheep hurting, by the way, is not covered under Assembly 38 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:40.400 Build ten sixty six, So if you're a sheep herder, 39 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:43.800 you don't have to pay over time and comply with 40 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:47.599 all these rules The nature of sheepherding and goat herding, 41 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:49.639 which I had to do some research in order to 42 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:53.240 do this podcast, is that the sheep herder or the 43 00:02:53.280 --> 00:03:03.199 goat herder stays with the flock, with the herd twenty 44 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:05.960 four to seven. That's the nature of the work. And 45 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:08.599 so when someone is hired to be a goat or 46 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:13.439 sheep herder, they spend all this time with their their 47 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:16.560 their their their herd, and the company that hires them 48 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:21.599 pays them a wage, and it's a good wage but 49 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:25.840 basically covers all their living expenses, their room, their board, 50 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:30.400 their food, their transportation. They get a company car. It 51 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:32.960 is a pretty good job. And a lot of the 52 00:03:33.479 --> 00:03:37.719 workers who are goat or sheep herders are actually people 53 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:40.560 who've come in to this country as immigrants under the 54 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:45.520 H two to a Work program, the VISA program. Well, 55 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:50.560 now we're finding that the Assembly Built ten sixty six 56 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:55.280 minimum wage requirements and overtime requirements will now kick in. 57 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:59.199 And as a result of that July first, the law 58 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:04.560 went into effect. Goat grazing companies say the expiration of 59 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:09.800 the exemption of Assembly Build ten sixty six for a 60 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:15.120 goat herding will result in an annual salary of two 61 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:19.480 hundred and forty thousand dollars per goat herder because of 62 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:21.439 all these overtime requirements, because remember they have to be 63 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:26.600 with the herd twenty four to seven. And they've said 64 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:31.040 that if this stays into effect, these higher labor costs 65 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:33.240 means that they're going to have to switch from goats 66 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:38.120 to sheep, shut down, sell all the goats. Well, you 67 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:42.879 who's going to buy a goat. It's not easy to 68 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:45.360 transport them, so a lot of goats will end up, oh, 69 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:52.560 that's right, being slaughtered. They say that one hundred and 70 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:56.839 twenty five thousand goats used for grazing might end up 71 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.959 being completely killed. And as a result of getting rid 72 00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:02.720 of all the goats, you don't just lose that industry. 73 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:07.319 You lose the jobs, but you lose the wildland fire 74 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:12.040 risk reduction that these goats provide. As you can see here, 75 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:15.680 these goats are out there eating brush, reducing the risk 76 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:20.279 of catastrophic wildland fire. And this has been very effective. 77 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:22.800 It's been covered in the media and about twenty percent 78 00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:31.759 of wildland fire programs are coming from these goat deployments, 79 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:37.560 which is great. It's a win win. So this bill 80 00:05:38.120 --> 00:05:44.439 was supposed to be told in terms of implementation, but 81 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:49.240 the legislature never got around to it. The expiration on 82 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:55.319 the exemption of goat herding kicked in July first, and 83 00:05:55.399 --> 00:06:00.879 so now these goat herders have to comply with this 84 00:06:01.759 --> 00:06:06.240 higher minimum wage and the overtime. Now the labor advocates say, 85 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:09.199 so be it. They should earn that money. A quarter 86 00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:12.120 million dollars, that's what they're doue, that's what they should receive. 87 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:16.399 Ill guess what the industry is going to shut down. 88 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:18.600 And we've seen this time and time again where people 89 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:21.480 are told by these Democrat politicians if there's a free launch, oh, 90 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:23.759 we're going to give you a salary increase, And so 91 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:30.199 they mandate these labor costs, these minimum wage increases, and 92 00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:33.480 in some cases the costs are just passed on to 93 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.959 the consumer, so in other words, you're paying for that. Well, 94 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:40.600 when the costs of living increase, then it doesn't really 95 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:44.439 pencil out that your minimum wage increase somehow benefited you, 96 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:47.839 because whatever benefit from the minimum wage increase is just 97 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:50.360 going to be gobbled up by ooh, that's right, rising 98 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:59.560 costs in terms of everything you buy. And so in 99 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:03.399 this case, you're not going to have the cost being 100 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:05.959 passed on because a quarter million dollars per goat herder 101 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:10.759 is simply just not sustainable. They're saying they will shut down, 102 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:15.800 and the question becomes where do all the goats go? 103 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:18.279 And how do you do the wild land fire mitigation. 104 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:22.319 So a lot of the legislators are now waking up 105 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:25.480 to the fact that there's a quarter million dollar salary 106 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.199 that's now going to be required for goat hurting, and 107 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:31.120 they're still sitting on their hands doing nothing. I signed 108 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:36.120 a letter asking that we take immediate action in passing legislation. 109 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:41.920 There was an exemption called SB one three, and this 110 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:44.920 was a bill that was passed several years ago that 111 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:49.240 extended the exemption on goat herding also required that we 112 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:52.639 study alternatives. The study was submitted to the legislature, but 113 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:55.399 the legislature did absolutely nothing about it. So now we 114 00:07:55.480 --> 00:08:01.680 have this crisis, and the question becomes what happens. Legislature 115 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:04.959 has intil the end of this month to pass legislation 116 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:08.720 providing an extension on the exemption from AB ten to 117 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:13.800 sixty six. We are not seeing the likelihood of that happening. 118 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:16.920 So this is an absolute disaster. And I'm surprised. I mean, 119 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:19.639 there's a story here in Stackramento b that we're scrolling through, 120 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:25.199 but I'm surprised that there's not a bigger focus on this. 121 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:29.240 I mean, because the reality is you have hundreds of 122 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:32.960 thousands of goats that are about to be slaughtered. I 123 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.639 guess you could ship them to other states, but I 124 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:38.799 just don't know how that market works. But worse, you're 125 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:43.039 going to have a wiland fire risk reduction tool taken 126 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:45.440 off the table. And this is something that everyone agrees 127 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:47.399 is a good idea. That you're not doing a controlled burn, 128 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:51.519 you're not cutting things down, you know, with mechanical equipment. Instead, 129 00:08:51.600 --> 00:08:54.000 you're allowing nature to run its course. You're allowing goats 130 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:58.879 to grace. Smart idea. Even the environmentalists should like it. Nope, 131 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:03.840 Democrat politicians they just simply say, let them eat cake, well, 132 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:08.960 let them eat hey. Minimum wage and they just somehow 133 00:09:09.039 --> 00:09:11.320 think that there's going to be a benefit, that this 134 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.559 is going to be sustainable. We're just going to raise 135 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:17.039 people's salaries and by all means, they should be excited 136 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:18.799 and they're going to be very happy with us. They'll 137 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:21.919 vote for us in the next election. But what is 138 00:09:21.960 --> 00:09:26.840 the result. We lose the jobs, we slaughter the goats, 139 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:33.840 the fire risk increases. Perfect textbook example of why democrats 140 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:37.000 know nothing about how to manage an economy. Their ideas 141 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:42.360 sound nice on paper and practice higher costs, fewer jobs, 142 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:47.279 a worse environment for us. All sound off in the 143 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:50.559 comments below. What are your thoughts on a quarter million 144 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:54.000 dollars for a goat herder? You know that it's not 145 00:09:54.039 --> 00:09:56.480 going to happen. I mean, you can't turn to your 146 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:59.600 son or your daughter and say, you know, I said, 147 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:01.639 I wanted to you to be a doctor, maybe a 148 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:04.759 lawyer when you're growing up. But no, no, no, you 149 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:07.759 need to be a goat herder. Quarter million dollars a year, 150 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:13.039 not happening. Insanity of California politics. Until next time. I'm 151 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:16.720 Carl Demio, chairman of Reform California and a California state representative. 152 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:19.639 Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed this episode. 153 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:23.159 But before you click away, please subscribe to this channel 154 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:26.240 and click that notification button so you get updated when 155 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:29.679 we post new episodes. Plus, like this video and share 156 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:31.639 it with your friends so that we can help spread 157 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:33.080 our message across the state.