IF ONLY THERE WERE SOME KIND OF EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND, CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRICES AND DEMAND: California City Raises Wages For Grocery Workers, Grocery Chain Responds Predictably. “In order to reward to work for grocery store employees, Long Beach passed the ‘Hero Pay’ measure, which increased the pay of grocery store employees by four dollars an hour. While the measure seems like it was well-intentioned, good intentions don’t balance budgets nor make the availability of products any more diverse. Long Beach officials were looking for a positive moment in the press, however, the Kroger grocery brand quickly put that to rest, by announcing that they were closing two grocery stores in the city, a Ralph’s location as well as a Food4Less store.”