Think of it like your household budget — when the bills get too high and you can’t cut back enough, what do you do? You start selling things or borrowing money until eventually there’s nothing left to sell. That's where Carl's Jr. finds itself in California.

The restaurant chain has been forced into a precarious financial situation due to the state's escalating minimum wage requirements. In San Diego alone, six Carl's Jr. restaurants have closed, leaving dozens of workers without jobs and struggling to make ends meet.

According to reports from current employees and former staff members, the situation inside California's remaining Carl’s Jr. locations has become tense due to a combination of operational strain and employee dissatisfaction. The high cost of labor has left management unable to address pressing safety concerns within their budget.

I did not want to believe this when I first heard about it. But as the details came out, it became clear that something needs to be done before more jobs are lost.

My late husband used to say, "When you're running out of resources and your expenses keep rising, there's a breaking point." Carl’s Jr. is nearing that breaking point right now.

To put this into perspective, imagine if every time the cost of living went up by 5%, your rent or mortgage payments increased accordingly. That would be unsustainable for most families.

What does this mean for our kids and grandkids? It means fewer opportunities in an already competitive job market, especially for those just starting out.

Last night, I stayed up thinking about the young people who will lose their jobs because of these policies. And it made me feel so helpless.

But we can’t let this continue without speaking up. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to make sure they have better economic opportunities ahead of them than what we see now in California's fast food industry.