Hillary Clinton Suggests the Minimum Wage Is a Local Issue
Though she has declined to say what she thinks is the ideal national minimum wage, the Democratic presidential candidate has implied that it might differ from place to place -- and thus she would not push for an increase if she were president.
Hillary Clinton. (Marc Nozell / CC BY 2.0)
Though she has declined to say what she thinks is the ideal national minimum wage, the Democratic presidential candidate has implied that it might differ from place to place — and thus she would not push for an increase if she were president.
The Guardian reports:
“I support the local efforts that are going on that are making it possible for people working in certain localities to actually earn $15,” Clinton said in a response to a question from a BuzzFeed News reporter on Thursday while campaigning in New Hampshire.
“I think part of the reason that the Congress and very strong Democratic supporters of increasing the minimum wage are trying to debate and determine what’s the national floor is because there are different economic environments. And what you can do in Los Angeles or in New York may not work in other places.”
Democrats in Congress have put forward proposals in the House and the Senate to raise the federally mandated minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020. The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 since July 2009. While she has previously said that US wages need to be higher, Clinton has not yet revealed whether she is more inclined to support a national minimum wage of $12 an hour that of $15 an hour.
Among those opposing raising the federal minimum wage are businesses big and large. As she has campaigned the past few months, more than once Clinton has said she wants to be a small-business president, and referring the issue of minimum wage increases to local government could be just the way to win them over.
Read more.
— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.
Wait, before you go…If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
A computational social scientist's study finds the Vermont senator's Twitter followers act just like every other candidate's supporters.
With his nonstop barrage of lies, the president has degraded our electoral system to the point that any result will feel illegitimate.
Democrats who insist that the former vice president is the safest bet this November conveniently overlook his neoliberal economic policies.
The class war that gave rise to his campaign is the fault of a long line of corporate Democrats like Joe Biden, and voters know it.
The former vice president lacks credibility on issues like money in politics. Nominating him all but guarantees catastrophe this November.
He might appeal to the white proletariat and talk tough on trade, but the only constituency to whom this president answers is the 1%.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.