One of the candidates from California running for a U.S. Senate seat was questioned about her support for a $50 minimum wage at a debate in San Francisco on Feb. 12.
Co-host FOX40 News’s Nikki Laurenzo asked U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee to explain how the minimum wage hike would be possible.
“Both of your Democratic opponents are calling for a minimum wage between $20 and $25 an hour. You’re calling for a $50-an-hour federal minimum wage. That’s seven times the current national minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Can you explain how that would be economically sustainable for small businesses?” she asked.
Ms. Lee replied that workers in the San Francisco Bay area aren’t being paid a living wage, claiming that according to recent reports, $127,000 a year is barely enough for a family of four to get by.
“Just do the math. Of course we have national minimum wages that we need to raise to a living wage,” she said. “We’re talking about $20, $25—fine. But I have got to be focused on what California needs and what the affordability factor is when we calculate this wage.”
Her opponent Republican Steve Garvey pointed out that California has already raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour, effective April 1, saying the move will increase the price of food for hardworking Californians.
He said regulations stifle the opportunity to grow the housing industry and that returning to a system of free-market capitalism, and supply and demand, would cut back inflation.
However, he said, “minimum wage is where it is and should be.”
