In-N-Out is trying to save California

California’s decline under a Democratic monopoly on power is not without its opposition. One of the most important opponents happens to be the best fast-food chain in the country.

In-N-Out Burger is spending at least $500,000 in support of Proposition 36, the fruit of the labors of those in the state trying to repeal the pro-criminal Proposition 47 passed in 2014. Proposition 36 would increase penalties for shoplifting and drug crimes, including those involving fentanyl. Retail chains in California joined with prosecutors to get Proposition 36 on the ballot against the frenzied pro-criminal opposition of state Democrats, even as cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Oakland, California, became less safe.

In-N-Out is one of many joining the fight against crime, about which the chain knows plenty. The chain closed a location for the first time in its 75-year history, shuttering its only Oakland restaurant for the safety of its employees. But crime is not the only issue on which In-N-Out has been pushing back against the California Democratic orthodoxy while trying to maximize the benefits for employees and customers alike.

In-N-Out opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates in 2021 to the point that one location was forced to close temporarily in San Francisco thanks to the city’s anti-science pandemic restrictions. In-N-Out refused to become the “vaccination police” and check the vaccination status of customers who simply wanted to buy a burger, rightly calling it “unreasonable” and “invasive.” The chain also banned the use of face masks by employees in several states in 2023 (well after the pandemic was over) to emphasize customer service, an attempt to break the COVID-19 panic narratives that persisted among many.

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In-N-Out has also been one of the best chains in terms of compensating employees, well before California Democrats jacked up the minimum wage for fast food restaurants. The chain has since had to increase its prices as a result of the California Democratic Party’s inflation, though it remains more affordable than many competitors.

All the while, In-N-Out has done this without sanctimonious political lectures condemning half the country’s political beliefs, unlike other major chains and businesses. In-N-Out is quietly trying to change California for the better, one fewer disastrous Democratic law and one more double-double burger at a time.