Ensure a $15 minimum wage for federal contract workers with
disabilities.ANALYSIS:This fulfills the promise as far it can go by executive order. While it will put pressure on the private sector to keep pace, ensuring a $15 wage for non-government contractors would require legislation.]
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Campaign website versus Biden Administration promises
Rahm Emanuel on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 2, 2021)
Raise minimum wage to $15/hour but allow states to opt out
Emanuel insisted that Democrats should package together an extension of tax credits included in the COVID relief bill and a $15 minimum wage plan that would allow states to opt out in favor of $12 if they want. "To begin,"
Emanuel wrote, "the package should set the new rate at $15 an hour, tying that figure to inflation moving forward, and giving states the right to opt out of $15 per hour in favor of a floor closer to $12."
Click for Rahm Emanuel on other issues.
Source: Andrew Perez and Julia Rock in Jacobin Magazine
Gavin Newsom on Minimum Wage:
(Families & Children Mar 9, 2021)
Increase child care subsidies; add to paid family leave
California's most acute preexisting condition remains income inequality. We stay fixated on closing unacceptable disparities. Rewarding working families by nearly tripling the earned income tax credit and increasing child care subsidies,
adding two more weeks of paid family leave, and raising the minimum wage to $14, on its way to $15 an hour. Providing first-ever health care subsidies for middle-class Californians so they can afford coverage.
Click for Gavin Newsom on other issues.
Source: 2021 State of the State Address to California legislature
Joe Biden on Minimum Wage:
(Welfare & Poverty Mar 6, 2021)
Gave up on $15 minimum wage in Congressional bills
PROMISE MADE: (Third Presidential Debate, Oct 22, 2020): "No one should work one job, be below poverty. People are making six, seven, eight bucks an hour. These first responders we all clap for as they come down the street because they've
allowed us to make it. What's happening? They deserve a minimum wage of $15. Anything below that puts you below the poverty level.PROMISE BROKEN: (CNN March 6, 2021): The Senate bill does not include an increase in
the federal minimum wage, which House Democrats proposed raising to $15 an hour. The parliamentarian ruled in late February that increasing the hourly threshold does not meet a strict set of guidelines needed to move forward in the reconciliation
process.
OnTheIssues ANALYSIS: Progressives have said they will continue to fight for the increase, and the Biden White House continues to support a raise to $15/hour, including the "Raise the Wage Act" introduced in 2021.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN "Senate stimulus" analysis of 2021 Biden Promises
Joe Biden on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Oct 22, 2020)
No one with a job should be below poverty level
BIDEN: No one should work one job, be below poverty. People are making six, seven, eight bucks an hour. These first responders we all clap for as they come down the street because they've allowed us to make it. What's happening?
They deserve a minimum wage of $15. Anything below that puts you below the poverty level. And there is no evidence that when you raise the minimum wage, businesses go out of business. That is simply not true.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Third 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Kristen Welker
Mike Pence on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Sep 22, 2020)
Raising minimum wage is inflationary; would eliminate jobs
According to a Mike Pence press release obtained via Congressional Press Releases, "'Minimum wage increases raise unemployment among teenagers, minorities and part-time workers. The minimum wage violates fundamental free market economics. It costs jobs,
and I cannot support policies that will take jobs from those who need a paycheck the most." [Congressional Press Releases, 7/29/06]"[Pence's opponent] supports an increase in the minimum wage, currently at $3.35 an hour. Pence opposes an increase,
saying it would be inflationary. Pence referred to a study that concluded that increasing the minimum wage could eliminate 12,000 jobs in the 2nd District by 1992." [Indianapolis Star, 10/12/88]
"In 2013, House Democrats proposed a bill that would
bring the minimum wage to $8.25. Governor Mike Pence made his opposition apparent when he signed into law a bill that prohibits local governments from requiring a higher wage." [Indiana Statesman: Indiana State University, 9/24/14]
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Trump Research Book on Mike Pence
Joe Biden on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 27, 2020)
Universal paid sick leave' $15 minimum wage; support unions
I would ensure every worker had paid sick leave and across the board. It should be up to 14 weeks' paid sick leave. The national minimum wage should be $15, but that's not nearly enough. We should make [it] easier to unionize,
and take on those companies that spend about a billion dollars a year now trying to prevent people from being able to unionize and taking actions that prevents them from being able to do that.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN S.C. Town Hall amid 2020 primaries
Joe Biden on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 16, 2020)
I supported $15 minimum wage in NYC years ago
Bernie Sanders: What leadership is about, is going forward when it's not popular, when it's an idea that you get criticized for. So I'm proud of my leadership on many issues. Joe, since the campaign, has come around. I talked about raising that minimum
wage 15-bucks-an-hour, four years ago, Joe.Biden: So did I, and I went out and campaigned for it.
Sanders: $15 an hour?
Biden: $15 an hour, in New York City. Go to the Governor. You should be aware of it.
Sanders: I will talk to the Governor.
I am not aware of it. Four years ago, it was a radical idea. Very few people in Congress were talking about it.
FactCheck by PolitiFact:Biden is right about his efforts in NYC. In 2015, Biden campaigned with NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo to boost
NY's minimum wage to $15 per hour. Biden spoke for nearly 30 minutes and called "stagnant wages" the biggest issue facing the economy. Cuomo eventually signed legislation to gradually increase the hourly minimum wage to $15 for all New Yorkers.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: PolitiFact FactCheck on 11th Democratic 2020 primary debate
Amy Klobuchar on Minimum Wage:
(Civil Rights Feb 18, 2020)
Passing the ERA would be a nice thing to do
Q: What will you do for women pertaining to equality?KLOBUCHAR: Passing the ERA would be a nice thing to do. I also think that economic issues for women and men are key.
Getting an increase to the minimum wage would be really important for a lot of women workers.
Getting child care would be so key for so many workers; making sure that we keep strong women's right to choose would be so good. There is so much we can do.
But I think one of the amazing things about being the first woman president would be to basically have every little girl in America and really around the world think anything and everything is possible.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on eve of 2020 S. C. primary
Tom Steyer on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Feb 16, 2020)
Need to stand up for unions & right to bargain collectively
Raising the minimum wage and getting living wages for working Americans is something that's absolutely critical. And we need to stand up for unions. And we need to stand up for the right of working people to bargain collectively, to come together,
and to basically fight back against a war on the working people of this country that started with Ronald Reagan and has continued right through to Mr. Trump.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2020 Presidential race interview
Joe Biden on Minimum Wage:
(Families & Children Feb 5, 2020)
$15 minimum wage and triple money for Title 1 schools
I talk about the working poor all the time. No one should be working 40 hours a week and living in poverty. That's why we have to raise the standard of $15 an hour for every worker in America. We have to provide for opportunities at the early stages.
I propose that we triple the amount of money we spend for Title I schools, which means every child, age 3, 4, and 5, will be in school, not daycare, school.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary
Mike Bloomberg on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jan 20, 2020)
Raise minimum wage; pay Earned Income Tax Credit monthly
Mike's plan will enhance the Earned Income Tax Credit, pay it monthly and pay more where it's most needed. Mike will also increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, linked to growth in earnings, and ensure affordable child care,
paid family leave and the right to sue employers for harassment and discrimination. And his plan will grant all workers--including gig, contract and franchise employees--the right to organize and bargain collectively.
Click for Mike Bloomberg on other issues.
Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com
Gina Raimondo on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jan 14, 2020)
Raise minimum wage; expand earned income tax credit
Since I've been governor, we've raised the minimum wage three times. Our hardest working Rhode Islanders deserve a raise. Let's do it again this year.
At the same time, let's expand the earned income tax credit so hardworking Rhode Islanders can keep more of their money in their pockets. No one who works full time should live in poverty.
Click for Gina Raimondo on other issues.
Source: 2020 Rhode Island State of the State address
Michael Bennet on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Nov 19, 2019)
Hasn't supported a national $15 hourly minimum wage
Bennet's policy prescriptions include nothing that would more than slightly inconvenience the nation's rich.
He has a Plan to Reward Hard Work but can't even bring himself to support a national $15 hourly minimum wage.
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Tulsi Gabbard on Minimum Wage:
(Social Security Nov 19, 2019)
Take money for Social Security from military & tax giveaways
Gabbard supports eliminating tax breaks for corporations that shift profits abroad and a national $15 hourly minimum wage. She says she wants to "ensure Social Security's solvency by taking the trillions of tax dollars now spent
on military spending and tax giveaways to the wealthiest American families and corporations and reinvesting them" in the Social Security program.
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Tom Steyer on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Oct 15, 2019)
Minimum wage should be $11 to $20, for parity with 1980
Q: Bernie Sanders said, upon proposing to tax the assets of the wealthiest Americans, "we cannot afford a billionaire class whose greed and corruption has been at war with the working families of this country for 45 years". Steyer: Senator Sanders is
right. There have been 40 years where corporations have bought this government: a 40-year attack on the rights of working people & specifically on organized labor. I was one of the first people on this stage to propose a wealth tax. I would undo every
Republican tax cut for rich people and major corporations.
Q: What's your plan for closing the income gap?
Steyer: It's absolutely shameful the way the money gets split up in terms of earnings. As a result of taking away the rights of working people
and organized labor, 90% of Americans have not had a raise for 40 years. If you took the minimum wage from 1980 and just adjusted it for inflation, you get $11. It's $7.25.. If you included the productivity gains of American workers, it'd be over $20.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Mike Pence on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Sep 14, 2019)
Increasing minimum wage causes lay offs
[In the 1988 electoral race, Rep. Phil] Sharp and Pence finally met on the debate stage, on October11.[On minimum wage]: "Increasing the minimum wage would cause businesses to lay off workers, he said' when
you guys raise the guy on the bottom rung of the ladder, you have to raise everybody else's." He blasted Sharp and the Democrats on spending: "Their answer to every social ill is to spend more money."
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Piety & Power, by Tom LoBianco, p. 61-2
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Government Reform Sep 12, 2019)
Power to the people, not the billionaires
We have to recognize that this country is moving into an oligarchic society where a handful of billionaires control the economic and political life. As president, I am prepared to take them on. Yes, we will raise the minimum wage to a living wage.
Yes, we will finally make sure that every American has health care as a human right, not a privilege. And, yes, we will address the catastrophic crisis of climate change and transform our energy system away from fossil fuel.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston
Bill de Blasio on Minimum Wage:
(Principles & Values Jul 31, 2019)
Restructure society: tax the hell out of the wealthy
To the working people of America, tonight I bring you a message of hope. We can make change in this country. I know from personal experience it can be done.When I became the mayor of the nation's largest city, I set us on a path of bold change.
They said it couldn't be done, but we gave pre-K to every child for free. We got rid of stop-and-frisk and we lowered crime. We raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Yes, it can be done.
For 40 years, working people have taken it on the chin in
this country. For 40 years, the rich have gotten richer and they've paid less and less in taxes. It cannot go on this way. When I'm president, we will even up the score and we will tax the hell out of the wealthy to make this a fairer country and to
make sure it's a country that puts working people first.
If you agree that we can stand up to Donald Trump and we can stand up to the wealthy, then go to TaxTheHell.com and join us, so we can build a country that puts working people first.
Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Bill de Blasio on Minimum Wage:
(Principles & Values Jul 31, 2019)
Restructure society: tax the hell out of the wealthy
To the working people of America, tonight I bring you a message of hope. We can make change in this country. I know from personal experience it can be done.When I became the mayor of the nation's largest city, I set us on a path of bold change.
They said it couldn't be done, but we gave pre-K to every child for free. We got rid of stop-and-frisk and we lowered crime. We raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Yes, it can be done.
For 40 years, working people have taken it on the chin in
this country. For 40 years, the rich have gotten richer and they've paid less and less in taxes. It cannot go on this way. When I'm president, we will even up the score and we will tax the hell out of the wealthy to make this a fairer country and to
make sure it's a country that puts working people first.
If you agree that we can stand up to Donald Trump and we can stand up to the wealthy, then go to TaxTheHell.com and join us, so we can build a country that puts working people first.
Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Pete Buttigieg on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 30, 2019)
Raise minimum wage, like Scripture tells us
In addition to confronting tech, in addition to supporting workers by double unionization, as I propose to do, some of this is low-tech, too, like the minimum wage is just too low. And so-called conservative
Christian senators right now in the Senate are blocking a bill to raise the minimum wage, when scripture says that whoever oppresses the poor taunts their maker.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Bill de Blasio on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 28, 2019)
Working people's bill of rights
I put out a working people's bill of rights. We need to guarantee card check neutrality so it's easier to get into a union. We need to make sure that folks in the gig economy have benefits and wages that are protected. We need to make sure folks can't
just be fired in this country without just cause, which is the truth right now. We need to do things like ensure a $15 minimum wage and paid vacation days. Every major country on Earth provides paid vacation days as a matter of law.
Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week interviews in 2019
Cory Booker on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 21, 2019)
Supports $15 minimum wage; pays campaign staff at least that
Q: You support a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Do you pay your campaign staff that? BOOKER: You know, we have said in our campaign that we're not only going to pay our campaign staff that, but we're going to pay interns as well. Not only do we pay our
campaign staff wages that reflect what my values are, but we actually make sure that we have inclusive campaigns, diverse campaigns.
Q: So it's $15 an hour minimum?
BOOKER: It's $15 an hour or more than that, yes.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: CNN "SOTU" 2019 on 2020 candidates
Kamala Harris on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Harris on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard;
Kirsten Gillibrand; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Kamala Harris on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Seth Moulton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Moulton on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard;
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Tulsi Gabbard on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Gabbard on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney;
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Tulsi Gabbard on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Michael Bennet on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $12/hour
Michael Bennet on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $12/hour.No candidates have similar views.
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet has not signed on as a co-sponsor to
Democrats' Raise the Wage Act, but he does call for raising the minimum wage on his campaign website. A senior campaign official confirmed to
POLITICO that Bennet supports raising the federal minimum wage to $12 per hour and "encouraging higher-cost cities and states to increase to $15 based on what makes sense for their local economic conditions."
Bennet agrees with raising the federal minimum wage to $15 over time, but "at a rate that won't jeopardize jobs in lower-cost rural areas or struggling cities," according to the official.
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Wayne Messam on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Calls for living wage; raised city worker minimum to $12/hr
Wayne Messam on Minimum Wage: Supports raising the wage but not to a specific figure.Some candidates have not specifically endorsed a $15 minimum wage but have called for raising it. On his campaign website,
Wayne Messam calls for a "living wage." As mayor of Miramar, Florida, in 2015 he backed raising the hourly minimum wage for some city employees to as much as $12 an hour.
Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
John Hickenlooper on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Hickenlooper on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard;
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Julian Castro on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Castro on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard;
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Tim Ryan on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hourTim Ryan on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delane
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Tim Ryan on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Andrew Yang on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Leave the minimum wage up to the states
Andrew Yang on Minimum Wage: Leave the minimum wage up to the states. No candidates have similar views.Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur pushing a universal basic income of $1,000 per month, opposes the federal minimum wage,
and instead favors hourly wage minimums to be set by the states. A universal basic income, Yang has said, makes a wage minimum "much less necessary."
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Pete Buttigieg on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Peter Buttigieg on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard;
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Steve Bullock on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Bullock on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; Bill de Blasio; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard;
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Bill de Blasio on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 17, 2019)
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour
Bill de Blasio on Minimum Wage: Raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour.19 CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Steve Bullock; Peter Buttigieg; Julian Castro; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard;
Kirsten Gillibrand; Kamala Harris; John Hickenlooper; Jay Inslee; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Beto O`Rourke; Tim Ryan; Bernard Sanders; Eric Swalwell; Elizabeth Warren; Marianne Williamson.
There's broad support among Democratic presidential candidates for doubling the hourly minimum from $7.25 to $15, and then allowing it to rise automatically with inflation, as proposed by House Democrats in the Raise the Wage Act. Even centrists like
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Vice President Joe Biden favor this. In 2016, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton favored going only to $12 (though she expressed strong support for states that raised it to $15).
Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Tom Steyer on Minimum Wage:
(Corporations Jul 10, 2019)
Take the corporate control out of politics
Economy: Limit the influence of corporations in politics and raise the minimum wage.
In his campaign announcement, Steyer said he wanted to "take the corporate control out of politics," adding that if corporations have an "unlimited ability to participate in politics, it will skew everything because they only care about profits."
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour 2019 coverage of 2020 Democratic primary
Tom Steyer on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 10, 2019)
Supports right to a living wage
Steyer supports raising the minimum wage, and lists "the right to a living wage" as one of the "5 Rights" all Americans should have. He previously put money toward a carbon tax proposal in the state of
Oregon, but has said that talking about "jobs and health" is a more effective way of getting voters to take interest in climate issues.
Click for Tom Steyer on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour 2019 coverage of 2020 Democratic primary
John Delaney on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jun 26, 2019)
Create living wage via paid family leave & more
Q: How would you address income inequality?NYC Mayor DeBlasio: You hear folks say there's not enough money. What I say to them is there's plenty of money in this country.
Q: Do you agree?
Rep. Delaney: We need to make sure everyone has a
living wage. I've called for a doubling of the earned income tax credit, raising the minimum wage, and creating paid family leave. That will create a situation where people actually have a living wage. Then we've got to fix our education system.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
Bill de Blasio on Minimum Wage:
(Welfare & Poverty Jun 26, 2019)
We need a president who has seen the face of poverty
It matters in this fight for the heart and soul of our party that we nominate a candidate who has seen the face of poverty and didn't just talk about it but gave people $15 minimum wage.
It matters that we nominate a candidate who saw the destruction wrought by a broken health care system and gave people universal health care.
It matters that we choose someone who saw the wasted potential of our children denied pre-K and gave it to every single one of them for free.
These are the things that I've done in New York and I want to do the same for this whole country, because putting working people first, it matters. We need to be that party again.
Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
Bill de Blasio on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs May 18, 2019)
Would raise the NYC minimum wage to $15/hour
The mayor has advocated for a $15 minimum wage in New York.
Click for Bill de Blasio on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com: "The 2020 Democrats" (presidential hopefuls)
Marianne Williamson on Minimum Wage:
(Corporations May 13, 2019)
Repeal corporate tax cuts
ECONOMY/TRADE: Increase minimum wage by region, repeal corporate tax cuts in 2017 tax law.Williamson has put forward a four-step plan to reduce income inequality. It includes providing cash relief through a universal basic income; creating jobs
through Green New Deal legislation; boosting government funding for early education and caregiving; and introducing a universal savings program. Williamson has proposed paying for the plan by rolling back tax cuts to the wealthy and big businesses.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour 2019 coverage of 2020 Democratic primary
Steve Bullock on Minimum Wage:
(Families & Children May 11, 2019)
Supports same-sex marriage in Montana
All three of Bullock's statewide victories were in presidential years that saw Montana's electoral votes go to the Republican at the top of the ticket. Bullock was also elected to lead the National Governors Association in 2018. Bullock has a
simultaneously bipartisan and liberal reputation, courting Republicans with spending cuts while expanding Medicaid in Big Sky Country, raising the minimum wage, enacting campaign finance reform, defending abortion rights and supporting same-sex marriage.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2020 Democratic primary
Beto O`Rourke on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 29, 2019)
Raise minimum wage to $15
O'Rourke supports increasing the
minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Joe Biden on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 25, 2019)
Increase minimum wage gradually
In 2015, Biden called for a $12 federal minimum wage that would gradually increase to $15 by 2020, even when the
Obama administration advocated for a modest uptick of $12 per hour from $7.25.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 12, 2019)
Tax companies for public benefits used by workers
Sanders co-sponsored a bill in April 2017 that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15. In September 2018, he introduced the
Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act, which would tax companies for public benefits their workers accessed.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Bill Weld on Minimum Wage:
(Families & Children Apr 2, 2019)
2000: Supported Family Leave Act, except paid leave
Weld has spoken about a commitment to advocating for LGBT people, people of color and women who experience domestic violence, but he has not talked much about pay equity. And though he wrote in a 2000 article that he thought it was "madness for the
Republicans during the first Bush administration to be opposed to the Family Leave Act," which guaranteed unpaid leave for medical & family reasons, he has not endorsed the idea of paid leave. As governor, he vetoed minimum wage increases.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: Abigail Abrams, Time magazine, on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Steve Bullock on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 30, 2019)
Represented workers as labor lawyer; fight for minimum wage
Bullock has spent his career fighting on behalf of workers, students and families. Before serving in public office he represented workers as a labor lawyer and as a private citizen led the successful fight to raise
Montana's minimum wage. With Washington, D.C. increasingly divided by partisanship, Bullock has moved Montana forward by bringing people together.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential PAC campaign website ourbigskyvalues.org
Wayne Messam on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 28, 2019)
Supported boosting minimum wage
Messam also supported a "living wage" for
Miramar city, putting full and part-time workers above the state minimum wage.
Click for Wayne Messam on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com on 2020 presidential hopefuls
Pete Buttigieg on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 19, 2019)
Government must be pro-active with changing economy
We've been restoring manufacturing jobs, but we're realistic about the fact that with automation it's not going to look like the old economy. The economy is changing. The pace of change is accelerating. We've got to master those changes in order to
make them work for us. Everything from making sure everybody has health care, to increasing the minimum wage, to delivering portable benefits so that when you get disrupted from your job, it's not such a disruption in the rest of your life.
Click for Pete Buttigieg on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2019 interviews for 2020 Democratic primary
Elizabeth Warren on Minimum Wage:
(Welfare & Poverty Mar 18, 2019)
Focus on poverty, not corporate profit: raise minimum wage
Today in America, a full-time minimum-wage job will not keep a mama and a baby out of poverty. I am in this fight because I believe that is wrong. Washington once asked the question, at least on minimum wage, "What does it take to support a family,
to get a little toe in the door?" Today, they ask, "What will improve the profitability of giant multinational banks?" I want a government that doesn't work for giant multinational corporations. I want one that works for little families like mine.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
Amy Klobuchar on Minimum Wage:
(Civil Rights Mar 17, 2019)
Reparations can mean investing in communities
I believe we have to invest in those communities that have been so hurt by racism. It doesn't have to be a direct pay for each person. But what we can do is, invest in those communities, acknowledge what's happened. And that means better education.
That means looking at, for our whole economy: community college, one-year degrees, minimum wage, childcare, making sure that we have that shared dream of opportunity for all Americans.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2019 interview of presidential hopefuls
Marianne Williamson on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 5, 2019)
Supports $15 minimum wage & Green New Deal
Economy: Williamson supports the institution of a $15 minimum wage. She also supports the
Green New Deal, an economic stimulus bill that calls for radical environmental and economic policies.
Click for Marianne Williamson on other issues.
Source: Townhall.com: 2020 Democratic primary "Candidate profiles"
Jay Inslee on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 1, 2019)
Increase minimum wage; ensure gender pay equity
Inslee supports increasing the minimum wage, which is currently $12 in Washington state and will rise to $13.50 in 2020. Inslee signed into law a guaranteed paid family leave plan in 2017,
granting eligible parents 12 weeks paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or for a serious medical condition. He also signed an Equal Pay Opportunity Act that requires employees receive equal pay and work opportunities regardless of gender.
Inslee opposes the Trump administration's trade policies. He has said that "any punitive tariffs to the Asian markets are felt deeply" in the state of Washington.
Inslee believes in a positive working relationship with trade partners and open access to foreign trade markets.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
John Delaney on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Feb 27, 2019)
Yes on boost to minimum wage to $15
He supports raising the
federal minimum wage to $15.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Feb 25, 2019)
Make minimum wage a living wage
I believe that in the richest country in the history of the world, if you work 40 hours a week, you should not be living in poverty. I believe that if we raise that minimum wage to $15 an hour, workers will have more money to spend in their community
and create jobs doing that. Raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do. I think it is good economics. I'm very delighted to see the kind of progress we're making in states and cities all over this country.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall on 2020 Democratic presidential primary
Amy Klobuchar on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Feb 18, 2019)
Minimum wage must be raised
It is an unbelievable thing that we have not increased the federal minimum wage for something like a decade. And it's just stuck where it is.
And we should be increasing the minimum wage. That brings up the wage everywhere.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: CNN Town Hall: 2020 presidential hopefuls
Bill Weld on Minimum Wage:
(Government Reform Feb 15, 2019)
Blow up unnecessary state agencies
- Economy and government: Supports cutting taxes and reigning in spending. Opposes Trump's tariffs.
-
A fiscal conservative, as Massachusetts' governor Weld reigned in spending, cut taxes some 15 times, and vetoed minimum wage hikes.
-
He's a free trader who said in 2016 that candidate Donald Trump's "huge unilateral tariffs" would damage the world economy.
-
Weld promised to "blow up" unnecessary state agencies after taking office as governor in 1991. As a Libertarian candidate in 2016, he pledged to cut the federal government by 20 percent to reduce waste.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Cory Booker on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Feb 1, 2019)
Supports $15 minimum wage and guaranteed jobs
Booker supports a $15 minimum wage and calls it "unacceptable" for Americans to "work a full-time job and still live in poverty." He also backs a pilot program that would provide grants to guarantee everyone a job and paid sick leave. Last year,
Booker sponsored legislation to eliminate the income gap by creating a savings account for every child that could grow to as much as $46,000 by their 18th birthday. The "opportunity account" could be used to pay for home ownership or higher education.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
Gina Raimondo on Minimum Wage:
(Families & Children Jan 15, 2019)
Passed paid sick leave; improved child care
We raised the minimum wage, and we're gonna do it again next year; We passed paid sick leave, because no Rhode Islander should have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of a sick child at home;
We've improved the quality of child care so parents can have peace of mind while they're at work.
Click for Gina Raimondo on other issues.
Source: 2019 State of the State address to Rhode Island legislature
Julian Castro on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jan 6, 2019)
Minimum wage should be a living wage
It is a shame today that we have not seen a minimum wage increase in almost a decade. It's different than it used to be, right?
You used to be able to work 40 hours, even on minimum wage, and be able to provide for your family. Today that's not true. And we need to get back to a place in this 21st Century where that is true. The economy works for everybody.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2019 interviews for 2020 Democratic primary
Jay Inslee on Minimum Wage:
(Budget & Economy Jan 2, 2019)
Leading state in job growth & personal-income growth
Inslee talks about "the other Washington": the experiment in progressive governance that he's led for the past six years that's cut against the conventional wisdom of economics. On his watch, the state has boosted health care, increased access to
early-childhood education and college, raised the minimum wage, expanded paid family leave, invested in infrastructure, and established in-state net neutrality, all while leading the country in job growth, overall personal-income growth, and GDP.
As other states shed residents, people are moving to Washington. It's hard to drive through the parts of Seattle where Amazon has sprouted neighborhoods of coffee shops and artisanal seafood kitchens and argue that the lefty policies Inslee's been
pushing have had the kind of economic downside that their opponents always warn they will.Opponents say, "Market forces, consumer demands, commonsense policies would have done about the same thing that we've had under six years of Jay Inslee."
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: The Atlantic on 2020 presidential hopefuls, "Climate Change"
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Nov 27, 2018)
Accompany minimum wage increase with pay equity for women
Why, in the wealthiest country in history, do we have a massive level of income and wealth inequality? Why are millions of us forced to work two or three jobs because we earn starvation wages? Why, at a time of record-breaking profits, does the federal
minimum wage remain an unlivable $7.25 per hour? Three years ago, a few brave Democrats in the Senate were advocating for a $12 federal minimum wage. Today, a majority of Americans support a $15-an-hour minimum wage.
We are making progress in
creating a more just economy. And by the way, when we talk about a fair wage, we cannot forget that women still earn some 80 cents on the dollar compared with men. When we talk about a fair wage, we cannot forget that women still earn some 80 cents on
the dollar compared with men. There is overwhelming support in this country for pay equity--equal pay for equal work--and that is the right thing to do. Every man in this country must stand with the women to win that fight.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders, p.253-4
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Principles & Values Nov 25, 2018)
Learn from Gingrich in 1994: propose bold Democratic agenda
Q: You are calling for Democrats, who are now going to be in the majority in the House, to launch a kind of new Contract with America [including] raising the minimum wage, making public universities tuition free, & expanding Social Security.SANDERS:
You pick up on what I wrote in a Washington Post op-ed: back in 1994 Newt Gingrich--who I disagree with on everything--had a bold right wing agenda, and I think we should learn from that. This is what the American people want. And we should do it.
Poll after poll shows that the American people understand that our current dysfunctional health care system needs fundamental change; that we have to deal with a broken criminal justice system; with immigration reform. The question is whether Congress
has the guts to stand up to the big money interests who want more tax breaks for the rich, who want to cut Social Security. Or we stand up for the shrinking middle class and we demand legislation which represents the working families of this country.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Howie Hawkins on Minimum Wage:
(Families & Children Nov 4, 2018)
Supports universal healthcare & universal pre-K
Howie Hawkins sounds like a nice guy, and his platform is admirable in many ways. He supports universal healthcare, raising the minimum wage, banning fracking, creating green jobs and serious ethics reform. His education agenda calls for full funding of
public schools, universal pre-K and free tuition at state higher-ed institutions, earning him the endorsement of several dissident teachers unions, as well as education activist Diane Ravitch.
Click for Howie Hawkins on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2014 New York gubernatorial race
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Oct 14, 2018)
Helped raise minimum wage at Amazon to $15 per hour
Q: President Trumps says that if the Democrats get control, people like you--he calls you "Crazy Bernie"--are going to take over and try to turn the US into Venezuela.SANDERS: Yes, Bernie would like to guarantee healthcare to all people. Bernie wants
to end the absurdity of thousands of bright young kids not being able to afford to go to college and millions leaving school deeply in debt. Bernie thinks it's more important to invest in the needs of our infrastructure and our working families rather
than giving tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. Bernie thinks that we should raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and are proud of the work that many of us did in helping to raise that wage at Amazon, 350,000 workers now are going to be making
at least $15 bucks an hour. So what Bernie wants to do is to have a government that represents all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors. Now Trump may not like that, but I think most Americans want to see us move in that direction.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Beto O`Rourke on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Oct 9, 2018)
Raise minimum wage from $7.25/hr to $15
Q: Raise the federal minimum wage from current $7.25/hr?Ted Cruz (R):
No. "Raising the minimum wage would cost jobs for the most vulnerable."
Beto O'Rourke (D): Yes. Supports increasing to $15/hr.
Click for Beto O`Rourke on other issues.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Texas Senate race
Ted Cruz on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Oct 9, 2018)
Raising minimum wage costs jobs for the most vulnerable
Q: Raise the federal minimum wage from current $7.25/hr?Ted Cruz (R):
No. "Raising the minimum wage would cost jobs for the most vulnerable."
Beto O'Rourke (D): Yes. Supports increasing to $15/hr.
Click for Ted Cruz on other issues.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Texas Senate race
Deb Haaland on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Oct 9, 2018)
$15/hr minimum wage and a federal job guarantee program
I will fight for: A federal $15 minimum wage so everyone who works full time can put food on the table and pay rent. People need good jobs with living wages. A federal job guarantee needs to be explored and could open the door to other ideas like
a national childcare program, universal pre-k to address the education gap, and public art to make our cities more vibrant and livable. As automation increases and climate change shifts our landscape, we need to think about how to keep America working.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.
Source: 2018 NM-1st House campaign website DebForCongress.com
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Corporations Jul 22, 2018)
Americans in red OR blue states oppose enriching the top 1%
Q: You're in Kansas working to help elect progressive candidates. This is a solidly pro-Trump red state. SANDERS: Well, I happen to believe passionately that there really is not a blue state/red state division in this country. I think there is a lot
of mythology attached to that. People believe that health care is a right. People believe we should raise the minimum wage to a living wage. People do not think, as Trump does, that we should give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the top
1 percent, but in fact we have got to demand that the rich start paying their fair share of taxes. So, whether you are in Kansas or the Bronx or in
Vermont, we have common interests and common aspirations. And we have got to fight for an America that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of 2020 hopefuls
Gina Raimondo on Minimum Wage:
(Social Security Jan 16, 2018)
Cut tax on Social Security payments
We've listened to Rhode Islanders who felt like their leaders weren't doing enough to support them: We raised the minimum wage; we passed paid sick leave, because no Rhode Islander should have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of a sick child
at home; we've improved the quality of child care so parents can have peace of mind while they're at work. And we listened to seniors who say it's too hard to live on a fixed income, and we cut the tax on their social security.
Click for Gina Raimondo on other issues.
Source: 2018 Rhode Island State of the State address
Arvin Vohra on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Dec 12, 2017)
Eliminate the minimum wage entirely
When we eliminate the minimum wage, you can get into the workforce early. You can gain valuable work experience not just in supermarkets and clothing stores, but also in growing new businesses and clever startups. You can learn what matters in business
and what doesn't. You can make a more educated decision about the value of a particular degree vs. its cost.We reduce the barriers to your entry into the job market. Such a new wage system can save as much $40 billion in welfare every year.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.
Source: 2018 Maryland Senate campaign website VoteVohra.com
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Aug 29, 2017)
Minimum wage increase helps economy because workers spend it
When low wage workers have money in their pockets, they spend that money in grocery stores, restaurants, and businesses throughout this country. All this new business gives companies a reason to expand and hire more workers.
This is a win-win-win for our economy. Poverty is reduced. New jobs are created. And we reduce the skyrocketing income inequality that currently exists in this country.
Every time a minimum wage increase is proposed locally or nationally, conservative politicians and their billionaire campaign contributors claim that jobs will be destroyed.
Time and time again they have been proven dead wrong. Increasing the minimum wage is good for business as well as workers because it reduces employee turnover. When workers earn a living wage, they are more likely to stay with their company.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Guide to Political Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 3-7
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Aug 29, 2017)
Current $7.25/hr and $2.13/hr is starvation wage
The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is starvation wage. The minimum wage must become a living wage--which means raising it to $15 an hour by 2020 and tying it to the cost-of-living increases in the future. And we must also close the
loophole that allows employers to pay workers who get tips--waiters, bartenders, hairdressers, taxi drivers, parking attendants--a shamefully low $2.13 an hour. These changes would benefit more than seventy-five million workers and their families.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Guide to Political Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p. 2
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 26, 2017)
Fight for $15: worker wages so low they need food stamps!
[The movement labeled "Fight for $15" involved] raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour; [that] may have been a fringe idea a few years ago, but now it is a mainstream idea whose time has come. This legislation would also end an outrageous aspect of
corporate welfare. Today, many workers in large and profitable corporations, some of which are owned by multibillionaires, earn wages that are so low that they are forced to rely on publicly funded programs like
Medicaid, food stamps, and public housing in order to survive. In my view, it is totally absurd for the taxpayers of this country to have to subsidize people like Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the wealthiest person in the world, worth over
$150 billion. He should be paying his employees a living wage, and a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage would be a step in the right direction toward making that happen.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Where We Go From Here, by Bernie Sanders, p.80-1
Elizabeth Warren on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 18, 2017)
Workers earning $7.25 cannot keep above poverty line
March 2013 was our first hearing on the minimum wage. For close to four years, the federal minimum wage had been frozen at $7.25 an hour. The rate was already low by historic standards, and a lot of workers were sinking.
Minimum was is just that--the minimum. I'm pretty hard-core about this issue. The way I see it, no one in this country should work full-time and still love in poverty--period.
But at $7.25 an hour, a mom working a forty-hour-a-week minimum-wage job cannot keep herself and her baby above the poverty line.
This is wrong--and this was something the U. S. Congress could make better if we'd just raise the minimum wage. We could fix this now.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: This Fight is Our Fight, by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, p. 7-8
Cory Booker on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 1, 2017)
Fair wage jumpstarts consumer spending and creates jobs
Sen. Booker believes that anyone who is willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to succeed in America. He supports raising the minimum wage because he knows that when a family is able to earn a fair wage, they are able to create a more
stable & healthier living environment for their children, to invest in our national economy, and to be involved in their communities. Raising the minimum wage could cut the number of Americans living in poverty, jumpstart consumer spending & create jobs.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: 2017 Press Release from Senate office booker.senate.gov
John Kasich on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Dec 19, 2016)
No local vote on $15 minimum wage; keep $8.10
Kasich signed legislation blocking next year's special election vote on whether to raise Cleveland's minimum wage to $15 per hour. Senate Bill 331 prohibits communities in the state from raising the minimum wage beyond the state's minimum wage rate,
currently set at $8.10 per hour. State lawmakers passed the bill earlier this month at the request of Cleveland city officials.Raise Up Cleveland, the group sponsoring the proposal with the backing of the Service Employees International Union,
had aimed to get a $15-per-hour minimum wage proposal on the November ballot. But Cleveland City Council held months of contentious hearings on the proposal, and the issue narrowly missed that ballot deadline, buying city officials and other opponents
more time to try to quash the measure.
Proponents of a minimum-wage hike have said it would help the local economy by putting more money in the hands of poorer Clevelanders who are likely to spend it. Kasich signed the bill without comment.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Plain Dealer on Ohio legislative records: Senate Bill 331
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Nov 15, 2016)
$15 minimum wage, plus pay equity for women
Millions of Americans are now working for totally inadequate wages. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage and must be raised. The minimum wage must become a living wage, which means raising it to
$15 an hour over the next few years--which is exactly what Los Angeles recently did, and I applaud them for doing that. Our goal as a nation must be to ensure that no full-time worker lives in poverty.
Further, we must establish pay equity for women workers. It's unconscionable that women earn 78 cents on the dollar compared to men who perform the same work.
We must also end the scandal in which millions of American employees, often earning less then $30,000 a year, work fifty or sixty hours a week--and earn no overtime.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p.123
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Nov 15, 2016)
Minimum wage increase most helps minority workers
Raising the minimum wage would give a particularly huge boost to minority workers. Today, more than half of all African-American workers and nearly 60 percent of Hispanic workers earn less than $15 an hour. In addition, according to the most recent
statistics, women make up two-thirds of all minimum-wage workers. Increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour would significantly boost the wages of more than 15 million women.My Republican colleagues tell us that most minimum-wage workers out there
are kids earning some pocket change. This is simply not true, and by perpetuating that lie, my colleagues are keeping tens of millions of working adults in poverty.
The average worker who would benefit from a $15-an-hour minimum wage is
thirty-six years old with an average of seventeen years in the workforce. Less than 7 percent of workers who would receive a raise from this proposal are teenagers.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Our Revolution, by Bernie Sanders, p.218-9
Jay Inslee on Minimum Wage:
(Local Issues Sep 19, 2016)
Washingtonians work harder, but not sharing national wealth
I'm proud that we've created over 250,000 jobs and seen the lowest unemployment since 2008. But I know too many Washingtonians are working harder than ever, and aren't sharing in the wealth we are creating as a nation. Together, we will build a stronger
middle class by raising the minimum wage, ensuring paid sick leave, and advancing policies that allow working families to thrive. As a state we need to give our children a world-class education and we've already made some progress -- all-day
kindergarten, lower class sizes, and better paid and trained teachers. But we've got more to do and I'm confident we can do it. Finally, we know we need big improvements in our transportation system. That's why I insisted the legislature pass a package
that creates 200,000 jobs, repairs bridges, creates new lanes, and opens the door to more light rail. We got that done. While it won't fix everything overnight, it puts us on the right path while we address bottlenecks and find practical solutions.
Click for Jay Inslee on other issues.
Source: LWV's Vote411.org on 2016 Washington Gubernatorial Race
Elizabeth Warren on Minimum Wage:
(Families & Children Jul 26, 2016)
America is truly a land of opportunity
I grew up in Oklahoma. My daddy ended up as a maintenance man, and my mom worked for minimum wage at Sears. My three brothers served in the military. The oldest was career. The second worked construction. The third started his own business. I got
married at 19 and graduated from a commuter college in Texas that cost $50 a semester. The way I see it, I'm a janitor's daughter who became a public school teacher, a professor, and a United States Senator. America is truly a country of opportunity!
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Speech at 2016 Democratic National Convention
Mike Pence on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 14, 2016)
Blocked statewide & local minimum wage increase
Pence signed a law capping Indiana minimum wage and employee benefits. In 2013, Pence mustered Republican State House opposition to a proposal that would have increased Indiana's minimum wage to
$8.25 per hour despite national support for raising the wage to $9. According to The Times of Northwest Indiana,
Pence had previously signed legislation "prohibit[ing] local governments from requiring businesses [to] pay a higher minimum wage, or offer any working condition or benefit, such as paid sick leave, if it's not mandated by state or federal law."
On May 6, 2015, Pence continued his campaign against living wages by repealing a law guaranteeing that "prevailing wages" be paid to workers on publicly funded construction projects. [The Times of Northwest Indiana, 11/12/13, 5/6/15]
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: Media Matters on 2016 Veepstakes: "What Media Should Know"
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 9, 2016)
$15/hour minimum wage indexed to inflation
[After the 2016 primaries], during the proceedings in St. Louis and Orlando, we were victorious in including amendments in the platform that made it the policy of the Democratic Party to fight for:- A $15-an-hour federal minimum wage indexed to
inflation;
- Requiring Medicare to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices and making it legal to import safe and affordable medicine from Canada and other countries;
- Expanding Social Security by increasing taxes on those making over $250,000 a
year;
- Preventing employers from cutting the earned pension benefits of more than 1.5 million Americans;
- Making it easier for workers to join unions through majority card-check recognition and by ensuring a first contract through binding
arbitration.
All of these progressive policies were at the heart of our campaign. I appreciated the willingness of the Clinton team and the DNC to work with us and create a platform that we could all be proud of.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: Where We Go From Here, by B. Sanders, p.16-7, on 2016 DNC
Donald Trump on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs May 8, 2016)
How do people make it on $7.25? Raise state minimum wage
Donald Trump said in television interviews that he would like an increase in the minimum wage and that it is best that such a change happen at the state level.In the past, Trump has opposed upping the minimum wage. But in recent days, he has
increasingly warmed to the idea. "I have seen what's going on, and I don't know how people make it on $7.25," said Trump, referencing the federal minimum hourly wage. "With that being said, I would like to see an increase of some magnitude, but
I'd rather leave it to the states. Let the states decide."
Speaking at a second interview, the business mogul said, "I haven't decided in terms of numbers, but I think people have to get more."
He acknowledged that he was putting forth a position at odds with his previous stance. "Sure, it's a change. I'm allowed to change. You need flexibility," he said.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Washington Post, "Minimum-wage hike," by Sean Sullivan
Joe Sestak on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 6, 2016)
Increase minimum wage to $10.80 now & $15 later
Sestak said he would support an increase in the minimum wage to $10.80, with inflationary raises to eventually bring the floor to $15 an hour.[Sestak's opponents] McGinty and Fetterman both back a $15-an-hour minimum.
McGinty said numerous groups pushing for the $15 minimum wage have endorsed her (most prominently a bevy of labor unions).
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate debate
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 9, 2016)
Minority youth more underemployed than others
We have a crisis with youth unemployment. If you look at Latino kids between 17 and 20 who graduated high school, 36 percent of them are unemployed or underemployed. African-American kids are unemployed or underemployed to the tune of 51 percent.
That's why I co-sponsored legislation to put $5 billion into a jobs program to put our kids to work because I would rather invest in education and jobs than jails and incarceration. We have got to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 PBS Democratic primary debate in Miami
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 9, 2016)
Help Latinos with more jobs and higher incomes
The fastest-growing segment of small businesses are minority and women-owned small business, and we need to help businesses get started. We need to raise the minimum wage and we have to guarantee equal pay for women.
Everything I just said will improve the living conditions, and I've spent a lot of time and effort talking to and mostly listening to Latinos. Jobs are the number one issue, with rising incomes.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2016 PBS Democratic primary debate in Miami
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Corporations Dec 19, 2015)
Let's create America that works for all, not handful on top
People are anxious about the fact that they're seeing the new income and wealth going to the top 1 percent. They're saying the rich are getting richer, what are you going to do about it? Somebody like Trump comes along and says, "We hate Muslims, because
Muslims are terrorists." I say to those who go to Trump's rallies: He thinks a low minimum wage is a good idea. I believe we stand together to address the real issues. Let's create an America that works for all of us, not the handful on top.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 ABC/WMUR Democratic primary debate in N.H.
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Nov 14, 2015)
$12 minimum wage, indexed for the future
Q [to O'Malley]: The President's former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Alan Krueger, has said a national increase of $15 could lead to unintended consequences of job loss. You called for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour; why did you
stop at $10.10 in your state?O'MALLEY: $10.10 was all I could get the state to do. But two of our counties actually went to $12.80 and their county executives would also tell you that it works.
CLINTON: I do take what Alan Krueger said seriously.
He is the foremost expert in our country on the minimum wage, and what its effects are. That is why I support a $12 national federal minimum wage. But I do believe that is a minimum. And places like Seattle, like Los Angeles, like New York City, they can
go higher. It's what happened in Governor O'Malley's state.
O'MALLEY: Didn't just happen. Yeah, but look. It should always be going up.
CLINTON: You would index it to the median wage, of course. Do the $12 and you would index it.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 CBS Democratic primary debate in Iowa
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Nov 14, 2015)
$15 minimum wage might lose some jobs, but it helps many
Q: A minimum wage of $15 could lead to unintended consequences of job loss.SANDERS: No public policy doesn't have negative consequences. But what you have right now are millions of Americans working two or three jobs because their wages that they are
earning are just too low. It is not a radical idea to say that if somebody works 40 hours a week, that person should not be living in poverty. It is not a radical idea to say that a single mom should be earning enough money to take care of her kids.
Q: Are job losses an acceptable consequence?
SANDERS: Real unemployment in this country is 10% because the average worker in America doesn't have any disposable income. You have no disposable income when you are making $10 or $12 an hour.
When we put money into the hands of working people, they're going to go out and buy goods, they're going to buy services and they're going to create jobs in doing that. That is the kind of economy I believe in: put money in the hands of working people.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2015 CBS Democratic primary debate in Iowa
Donald Trump on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Nov 10, 2015)
Don't raise minimum wage; it makes us non-competitive
Q: Picketers have gathered demanding an immediate hike in the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Are you sympathetic to the protesters?DONALD TRUMP: I can't be. We are a country that is being beaten on every front economically & militarily. There is nothing
that we do now to win. We don't win anymore. [If our] wages are too high, we're not going to be able to compete against the world. I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is. People have to work really hard and have to get into that upper
stratum. But we can not do this if we are going to compete with the rest of the world. We just can't do it.
Q: So do not raise the minimum wage?
TRUMP: I would not do it.
CARSON: Every time we raise the minimum wage, the number of jobless people
increases.
MARCO RUBIO: If I thought that raising the minimum wage was the best way to help people increase their pay, I would be all for it, but it isn't. If you raise the minimum wage, you're going to make people more expensive than a machine.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Fox Business/WSJ First Tier debate
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Tax Reform Oct 13, 2015)
Wealthy pay too little and middle class pay too much
At the center of my campaign is how we're going to raise wages. Yes, of course, raise the minimum wage, but we have to do so much more. We have to figure out how we're going to make the tax system a fairer one. Right now, the
wealthy pay too little and the middle class pays too much. So I have specific recommendations about how we're going to close those loopholes, make it clear that the wealthy will have to pay their fair share, and have tax cuts for middle-class families.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2015 CNN Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas
John Kasich on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Sep 13, 2015)
Don't raise minimum wage willy-nilly, & do it at state level
Q: You supported a "reasonable" increase in the federal minimum wage, but then you backed off.KASICH: No, people were asking me about minimum wage and I said it's very important that we don't raise the minimum wage willy-nilly and we end up throwing
out of work the most unskilled workers. I also said that if you're going to have a raising the minimum wage, it ought to be something that gets calculated between employers and labor. And I fundamentally believe it ought to be done at the state level.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: Fox News Sunday 2015 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Social Security Aug 30, 2015)
Raise the Social Security cap on taxable income
I believe that, as opposed to my Republican colleagues who want to cut Social Security, I believe we should expand Social Security by lifting the cap on taxable income. That's not Hillary Clinton's position.
I believe that we have got to raise the minimum wage over a period of several years to $15 an hour--not Hillary Clinton's position. I voted against the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton voted for it.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: CNN SOTU 2015 interview series: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Donald Trump on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Aug 16, 2015)
Don't raise minimum wage, but create more opportunities
Q: What is a fair living wage? TRUMP: I want to keep the minimum wage pretty much where it is right now. Because of the fact that we have a country that is now competing more than ever before because of airplanes, and transportation, and the internet.
If we raise it we're not going to be able to compete with the rest of the world. What I do want to do is bring in jobs so much so that people don't have to live on minimum wage. But we are going to have to compete with the rest of the world.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Budget & Economy Jun 28, 2015)
Economic issues take a larger toll on minority groups
I think the nationwide issues that we are dealing with, combating youth unemployment, talking about the need that public colleges and universities should be tuition free, raising the minimum wage to
$15 an hour, creating millions of jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure, are issues that should apply to every American.
But to be honest with you, given the disparity that we're seeing in income and wealth in this country, it applies even more to the African-American community and to the Hispanic community.
And what we are going to do is make a major outreach effort to those communities.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Gina Raimondo on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jun 17, 2015)
Raise minimum wage to $9.60 per hour
Excerpts from legislation:H 5074: A bill to increase the minimum wage [adding new rate for 2016]: - Every employer shall pay to each of his or her employees:
- Commencing July 1, 1999, at least the minimum wage of $5.65 per hour.
- Commencing September 1, 2000, the minimum wage is $6.15 per hour.
- Commencing January 1, 2004, the minimum wage is $6.75 per hour.
- Commencing March 1, 2006, the minimum wage is $7.10 per hour.
- Commencing January 1, 2007, the minimum wage
is $7.40 per hour.
- Commencing January 1, 2013, the minimum wage is $7.75 per hour.
- Commencing January 1, 2014, the minimum wage is $8.00 per hour.
- Commencing January 1, 2015,
the minimum wage is $9.00 per hour.
- Commencing January 1, 2016, the minimum wage is $9.60 per hour.
Legislative outcome: Passed House, 59-13, June 2; passed Senate 35-3, June 11; signed by Governor, June 17
Click for Gina Raimondo on other issues.
Source: Rhode Island legislative voting records: H 5074
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Mar 21, 2015)
Raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour
The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage. We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage--$15 an hour over the next few years.
No one in this country who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, BernieSanders.com
Arvin Vohra on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jan 20, 2015)
Eliminate minimum wage so entry level jobs available to all
The Libertarian Party suggests not just stopping Obama's proposed new programs, but rolling back old ones that most Americans don't consider might be hurting more than helping. [Such as]: Don't raise the minimum wage to help people really
better themselves and get ahead; eliminate it so entry level jobs are available to all, not just those already valuable enough to be worth the enhanced minimum wage.
Click for Arvin Vohra on other issues.
Source: Reason Mag.: Libertarian response to 2015 State of the Union
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jan 20, 2015)
Help families with more paid leave & higher minimum wage
Today, we're the only advanced country on Earth that doesn't guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave to our workers. And that forces too many parents to make the gut-wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home.
So I'll be taking new action to help states adopt paid leave laws of their own. Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave. It's the right thing to do.
Of course, nothing helps families make ends meet like higher wages. That's why this Congress still needs to pass a law that makes sure a woman is paid the same as a man for doing the same work. Really. It's 2015. It's time.
And to everyone in this
Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2015 State of the Union address
Bernie Sanders on Minimum Wage:
(Budget & Economy Jan 15, 2015)
Comprehensive 12-step agenda for moving America forward
Agenda for America: 12 Steps Forward- Rebuilding Our Crumbling Infrastructure
- Reversing Climate Change
- Creating Worker Co-ops
- Growing the Trade Union Movement
- Raising the Minimum Wage
- Pay Equity for Women Workers
-
Trade Policies that Benefit American Workers
- Making College Affordable for All
- Taking on Wall Street
- Health Care as a Right for All
- Protecting the Most Vulnerable Americans
- Real Tax Reform
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: 12 Steps Forward, by Sen. Bernie Sanders
Deb Haaland on Minimum Wage:
(Corporations Dec 31, 2014)
Create an environment that is conducive to startups
We can use the resources we have here to stimulate small business and create an environment that is conducive to startups. Through innovative programs like technology transfers we can harness the talents of our state and create a positive environment
for local business ventures. Increasing minimum wage would give families the increase in income so badly needed by everyday New Mexicans. This income would go directly back into our LOCAL economy and stimulate our state's stagnant job market.
Click for Deb Haaland on other issues.
Source: Ballotpedia.org records: 2014 Lt. Governor campaign website
Elizabeth Warren on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Nov 18, 2014)
Minimum wage workers haven't gotten a raise in 7 years
Minimum wage workers haven't gotten a raise in seven years, and today nearly two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women. Mothers of very young children disproportionately work low-wage jobs in every state in the country.
A minimum wage job no longer keeps a mother and baby above the poverty line, yet Republicans continue to block legislation to raise the minimum wage.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Quotable Elizabeth Warren, by Frank Marshall, p.158
Kirsten Gillibrand on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Sep 9, 2014)
2013: raise minimum wage to $10.10/hour
In May 2013, minimum-wage workers don't have lobbyists or powerful advocacy networks, nor do many of them have time to come to Washington and lobby for themselves, because they can't afford to take the time off. Raising the minimum wage to
$10.10 an hour would put more money in the hands of people who need it. Twenty-eight million Americans, including fifteen million women, would start spending more on food, clothes, and other basics.
Economists estimate that $22 billion more would flow into the economy, and this would lead to more jobs. But these issues barely gain traction in Congress, because too few of our representatives can relate. They don't earn the minimum wage.
Most don't worry about childcare or family-sick-leave-policy. The majority are male, well paid, and not the primary caregiver in their homes.
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: Off the Sidelines, by Kirsten Gillibrand, p. 79-80
Elizabeth Warren on Minimum Wage:
(Welfare & Poverty May 11, 2014)
Nobody should work full-time and still live in poverty
Q: Are the Republicans going to take back the senate?SEN. WARREN: Take a look at the House if you want to see what happens when Republicans take over. What are they on now, is this their fiftieth vote to repeal Obamacare? That's not how you run a
country. We have real issues we need to deal with. Minimum wage, student loan debt, equal pay for equal work, a little accountability for the big financial institutions.
Q: Your fans say you're a populist, but your critics say you're just basically a
socialist.
WARREN: I just don't know where they get that. You know, look at the issues. Minimum wage? I just believe nobody should work full time and live in poverty. And you know what? Most of America agrees. Student loans, I don't think the U.S.
government should be making tens of billions of dollars in profits off the backs of our students, which is what the current student loan system is doing. And I think most Americans agree with me on that.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Face the Nation 2014 interview: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jan 29, 2014)
FactCheck: $10.10 minimum wage only affects 200,000 workers
OBAMA: "In the coming weeks, I will issue an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour, because if you cook our troops' meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn't have to
live in poverty."THE FACTS: This would be a hefty boost in the federal minimum wage, now $7.25, but not many would see it.
Most employees of federal contractors already earn more than $10.10. About 10% of those workers, roughly 200,000, might be
covered by the higher minimum wage. But there are several wrinkles. The increase would not take effect until 2015 at the earliest and it doesn't apply to existing federal contracts, only new ones. Renewed contracts also will be exempt from Obama's order
unless other terms of the agreement change, such as the type of work or number of employees needed.
Obama also said he'll press Congress to raise the federal minimum wage overall. He tried that last year, seeking a $9 minimum, but Congress didn't act.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: AP/Fox News FactCheck on 2014 State of the Union
Ted Cruz on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jan 28, 2014)
Raising minimum wage by executive fiat opposes rule of law
Of all the troubling aspects of the Obama presidency, none is more dangerous than the president's persistent pattern of lawlessness, his willingness to disregard the written law and instead enforce his own policies via executive fiat. On Monday,
Obama acted unilaterally to raise the minimum wage paid by federal contracts, the first of many executive actions the White House promised would be a theme of his State of the Union address Tuesday night.The president's taste for unilateral action to
circumvent Congress should concern every citizen, regardless of party or ideology.
Rule of law doesn't simply mean that society has laws; dictatorships are often characterized by an abundance of laws. Rather, rule of law means that we are a nation
ruled by laws, not men. That no one--and especially not the president--is above the law. For that reason, the U.S. Constitution imposes on every president the express duty to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed."
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Source: Wall Street Journal editorial on 2014 State of the Union
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jan 28, 2014)
Federal contracts require minimum wage of $10.10 per hour
Americans overwhelmingly agree that no one who works full time should ever have to raise a family in poverty.In the year since I asked this Congress to raise the minimum wage, five states have passed laws to raise theirs.
Many businesses have done it on their own. To every mayor, governor, and state legislator in America, I say, you don't have to wait for Congress to act; Americans will support you if you take this on. And as a chief executive,
I intend to lead by example. I will issue an Executive Order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally-funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour--because if you cook our troops' meals or wash their dishes, you shouldn't have
to live in poverty.
Of course, to reach millions more, Congress needs to get on board. Today, the federal minimum wage is worth about 20% less than it was when Ronald Reagan first stood here. So say yes. Give America a raise.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2014 State of the Union address
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Welfare & Poverty Jan 28, 2014)
Earned Income Tax Credit has helped half of all families
[Besides raising the minimum wage], there are other steps we can take to help families make ends meet, and few are more effective at reducing inequality and helping families pull themselves up through hard work than the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Right now, it helps about half of all parents at some point. But I agree with Sen. Rubio that it doesn't do enough for single workers who don't have kids. So let's work together to strengthen the credit, reward work, and help more Americans get ahead.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2014 State of the Union address
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Civil Rights Feb 12, 2013)
Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act
We know our economy is stronger when we reward an honest day's work with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we've put in place, a family with two kids
that earns the minimum wage still lives below the poverty line. That's wrong. That's why, since the last time this Congress raised the minimum wage, nineteen states have chosen to bump theirs even higher.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2013 State of the Union Address
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Feb 12, 2013)
Raise federal minimum wage to $9 per hour, and tie to COLA
Tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9.00 an hour. This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families.
It could mean the difference between groceries or the food bank; rent or eviction; scraping by or finally getting ahead. For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets.
Working folks shouldn't have to wait year after year for the minimum wage to go up while CEO pay has never been higher. So here's an idea that Governor Romney and I actually agreed on last year: let's tie the minimum wage to the cost of living, so that
it finally becomes a wage you can live on.
America is not a place where chance of birth or circumstance should decide our destiny. And that is why we need to build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class for all who are willing to climb them.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2013 State of the Union Address
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 1, 2008)
Expand paid sick days to seven per year
Obama has many initiatives to strengthen the family and provide a better learning environment for the young child to describe them all in detail here. A partial listing would include:- Provide a living wage: Barack Obama believes that people who
work full-time should not live in poverty. Obama would further raise the minimum wage, and index it to inflation.
- Full-time workers making minimum wage would get an EITC benefit up to $555, more than three times the $175 benefit they get today.
If the workers are responsibly supporting their children on child support, the Obama plan would give those workers a benefit of $1,110.
- Expand paid sick days: Half of all private sector workers have no paid sick days and the problem is worse for
employees in low-paying jobs. Barack Obama will require that employees provide seven paid sick days per year.
- Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Encourage states to adopt paid leave
- Expand the child and dependent car tac credit.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obamanomics, by John R. Talbott, p. 58-59
Mike Gravel on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Apr 22, 2008)
Support unionization; raise federal minimum wage
Gravel supports the following principles regarding jobs:- Increase funding for national job-training programs that retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in today’s job market.
-
Increase the federal minimum wage.
- Support the right of workers to unionize.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: Presidential Election 2008 Political Courage Test
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Immigration Feb 21, 2008)
Need to look at different aspects of immigration reform
We need stronger border security. We are cracking down on employers that are taking advantage of undocumented workers because they can’t complain if they’re not paid a minimum wage and not getting overtime. Worker safety laws are not being observed.
We have to make sure that doesn’t lead to people with Spanish surnames being discriminated against. We have to require that undocumented workers go to the back of the line, so that they are not getting citizenship before those who have applied legally.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Principles & Values Feb 11, 2008)
FactCheck: Ranked 16th most liberal in Senate
Obama was asked about a recent ranking of senators by the National Journal that rated him the most liberal in 2007. He responded by citing one vote on “an office of public integrity that stood outside of the Senate.”Obama’s answer could mislead voters
Obama cited just one of 99 Senate votes selected by National Journal’s reporters and editors for the study. Most of the votes chosen had to do with the minimum wage, renewable energy, immigration, embryonic stem cell research, and other issues that
divide liberals and conservatives.
Clinton ranked 16th most liberal in the Senate, although she actually differed from Obama on just 2 of the 99 selected votes--the creation of an outside ethics office, and allowing certain immigrants to stay in the
country while their visas were being renewed. A comparison of Obama & Clinton over the last three years (since Obama has been in the Senate) shows that Obama had an average composite “liberal” score of 88, which is higher than Clinton’s average of 77.6.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: FactCheck.org on 2008 Politico pre-Potomac Primary interview
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 23, 2007)
Pres. candidates can afford minimum wage; most folks can’t
Q: If you’re elected to serve as president, would you be willing to do this service for the next four years and be paid the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour?EDWARDS: Yes.
CLINTON: Sure.
OBAMA: Well, we can afford to work for the
minimum wage because most folks on this stage have a lot of money. I mean, we don’t have Mitt Romney money, but we could afford to do it for a few years. Most folks can’t. And that’s why we’ve got to fight and advocate for.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate, Charleston SC
Joe Biden on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 23, 2007)
Couldn’t afford living at minimum wage; advocates raising it
Q: If you’re elected to serve as president, would you be willing to do this service for the next four years and be paid the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour?
A: My net worth is $70,000 to $150,000. That’s what happens you get elected at 29. I couldn’t afford to stay in the Congress for the minimum wage. But if I get a second job, I’d do it.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate, Charleston SC
Mike Gravel on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 23, 2007)
Minimum wage as president OK, but we need living wage
Q: If you’re elected to serve as president, would you be willing to do this service for the next four years and be paid the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour?GRAVEL: Oh, yes, I would, but I would say that we don’t need a minimum wage; we need a
living wage. We don’t have that in this country because of what they passed.
DODD: I don’t think I could live on the minimum wage, but I’m a strong advocate to seeing to it that we increase it at least to $9 or $10.
EDWARDS: Yes.
CLINTON: Sure.
OBAMA: We could afford to do it for a few years. Most folks can’t. And that’s why we’ve got to fight and advocate for [an increase].
Q: Would you serve at minimum wage?
RICHARDSON: Yes, I would.
BIDEN: I couldn’t afford to stay in the Congress
for the minimum wage. But if I get a second job, I’d do it.
KUCINICH: I think we need to increase the minimum wage and so all my neighbors can get an increase in their wages.
Q: So would you work for it?
KUCINICH: I would. But I wouldn’t want to.
Click for Mike Gravel on other issues.
Source: [X-ref Clinton] 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 23, 2007)
No salary increase for Congress until minimum wage increased
I got to vote to raise the minimum wage. I put in legislation which said that Congress should not get a salary increase until they did raise the minimum wage, and
I am putting that back in, because I agree that by the time we got it raised after 10 years, it was already out of date.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate, Charleston SC
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jul 23, 2007)
Would accept minimum wage as president
Q: If you’re elected to serve as president, would you be willing to do this service for the next four years and be paid the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour?GRAVEL: Oh, yes, I would, but I would say that we don’t need a minimum wage; we need a
living wage. We don’t have that in this country because of what they passed.
DODD: I don’t think I could live on the minimum wage, but I’m a strong advocate to seeing to it that we increase it at least to $9 or $10.
EDWARDS: Yes.
CLINTON: Sure.
OBAMA: We could afford to do it for a few years. Most folks can’t. And that’s why we’ve got to fight and advocate for [an increase].
Q: Would you serve at minimum wage?
RICHARDSON: Yes, I would.
BIDEN: I couldn’t afford to stay in the Congress
for the minimum wage. But if I get a second job, I’d do it.
KUCINICH: I think we need to increase the minimum wage and so all my neighbors can get an increase in their wages.
Q: So would you work for it?
KUCINICH: I would. But I wouldn’t want to.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2007 YouTube Democratic Primary debate, Charleston SC
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jun 19, 2007)
Make the minimum wage a living wage
It’s time to turn the page for all those Americans who want nothing more than to have a job that can pay the bills and raise a family. Let’s finally make the minimum wage a living wage. Let’s tie it to the cost of living so we don’t have to wait another
10 years to see it rise. Let’s put the jobless back to work in transitional jobs that can give them a paycheck and a sense of pride. Let’s help our workers advance with job training and lifelong education.
Let’s invest in infrastructure, broadband lines, and rural communities and in inner cities. Let’s give jobs to ex-offenders--because we believe in giving a second chance to people.
And let’s finally allow our unions to do what they do best and lift up the middle class in this country once more.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Take Back America 2007 Conference
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Dec 12, 2006)
Minimum wage increases haven’t kept up with Congress’ wages
The last minimum wage increase was in 1996, when Congress and the president raised it to $5.15 an hour. However, the impact of the 1996-7 increase has been eroded by inflation. Adjusting for inflation, the minimum wage is at its lowest point in 50 years.
While minimum wage workers have not had a single raise, Congress has given itself $31,600 in pay raises. In the Senate, I’ve proposed blocking Congress from giving itself another raise until it lifts wages for workers.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2006 intro to It Takes A Village, by H. Clinton, p.306
Kirsten Gillibrand on Minimum Wage:
(Free Trade Nov 7, 2006)
Protect American jobs from going overseas
Labor- Protect American jobs from going overseas
- Supports indexing the minimum wage to inflation
- Reject trade agreements that hurt our workers
Click for Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, gillibrand2006.com, “Issues”
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Oct 1, 2006)
Working full-time should mean enough to support a family
Americans believe that if we work full-time, we should be able to support ourselves and our kids. For many people, this basic promise is not being fulfilled.Government policies can help, with little impact on market efficiency.
We can raise the minimum wage. It may be true that any big jumps in the minimum wage discourage employers from hiring. But when the minimum wage has not been changed in nine years and has less purchasing power in real dollars than it did in
1955, so that someone working full-time today in a minimum wage job does not earn enough to raise out of poverty, such arguments carry less force.
The Earned Income Tax Credit provides low-wage workers with supplemental income through the tax code should be expanded and streamlined so more families can take advantage of it.
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Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.180-181
Howie Hawkins on Minimum Wage:
(Families & Children Jul 31, 2006)
Raise minimum wage to family-supporting wage
Raise minimum wage to family-supporting wage. Public works to create jobs at living wage.
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Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, hawkinsforsenate.org, “Issues”
Howie Hawkins on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jun 30, 2006)
Full Employment at Living Wages
Full Employment at Living Wages. Public works to create millions of new jobs at living wages. Raise the Minimum Wage to a family-supporting Living Wage.
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Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, hawkinsforsenate.org, “Issues”
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jun 14, 2006)
Minimum wage should be tied to congressional salaries
We can start by standing up for an economy that honors work again. It is unacceptable that people working for a minimum wage have not had a raise in 10 years! Wouldn’t it be nice if they were given a chance to get beyond the stagnating wages?
Productivity is up, profits are up, but people’s wages are not up. I have introduced legislation that would tie the minimum wage to congressional salaries. No more increases for Congress until we raise the minimum wage!
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Source: Annual 2006 Take Back America Conference
Deval Patrick on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Sep 15, 2005)
Increase the minimum wage
[My plan for Moving Massachusetts Forward will focus on] reducing the number of working poor. I will support increasing the minimum wage.
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Source: Moving Massachusetts Forward, Patrick’s policy booklet, p. 5
Bill Weld on Minimum Wage:
(Civil Rights Aug 25, 2005)
Delivered homily at two same-sex weddings
Bill Weld truly mixes fiscal conservatism with social liberalism. As governor of Massachusetts he cut taxes 16 times, balanced the budget annually, pursued privatization, vetoed minimum wage increases, and even rejected higher levies on cigarettes to pay
for health care for children.Yet Weld does live up his socially liberal reputation in spades. Weld created the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth and was generally in the vanguard of gay-rights causes.
As recently as 2004, he delivered the homily at two former staffers' same-sex wedding and endorsed the Goodridge v. Department of Health decision before a Log Cabin Club conclave during the
Republican National Convention. He has since told the New York Post that he opposes same-sex marriage beyond Massachusetts.
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Source: W. James Antle III in Spectator Magazine
Bill Weld on Minimum Wage:
(Health Care Aug 25, 2005)
Vetoed cigarette-tax hike that paid for kids' health care
As governor of Massachusetts he cut taxes sixteen times, balanced the budget annually, pursued privatization, vetoed minimum wage increases, and even rejected higher levies on cigarettes to pay for health care for children.
(Let's repeat that last one: He vetoed a cigarette-tax hike that would have paid for children's health care--in Massachusetts.)
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Source: American Spectator, "Understanding Bill Weld"
Bill Weld on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Aug 25, 2005)
Vetoed minimum wage increase
As governor of Massachusetts he cut taxes sixteen times, balanced the budget annually, pursued privatization, and vetoed minimum wage increases. Although he grew progressively slacker on spending as his tenure wore on, Weld's first budget actually
reduced expenditures below the previous year's level. Hardly a Rockefeller Republican, he instituted work requirements for welfare recipients before the 1996 federal reform legislation and boasted that on taxes he was "a filthy supply-sider."
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Source: American Spectator, "Understanding Bill Weld"
Bill Weld on Minimum Wage:
(Welfare & Poverty Aug 25, 2005)
Instituted work requirements for welfare recipients
As governor of Massachusetts he cut taxes sixteen times, balanced the budget annually, pursued privatization, and vetoed minimum wage increases. Although he grew progressively slacker on spending as his tenure wore on, Weld's first budget actually
reduced expenditures below the previous year's level. Hardly a Rockefeller Republican, he instituted work requirements for welfare recipients before the 1996 federal reform legislation and boasted that on taxes he was "a filthy supply-sider."
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: American Spectator, "Understanding Bill Weld"
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Sep 28, 2004)
Overrode federal overtime rules and raised the minimum wage
Obama was the driving force behind Illinois’ Earned Income Tax Credit, which has provided more than $100 million in tax relief to working families. He was the chief sponsor of the law that exempts Illinois from the Bush Administration’s new federal
overtime rules and protects overtime pay for thousands of Illinois workers. He voted to increase the minimum wage to $6.50 an hour. He sponsored a law that ensures workers have advance warning if their employer is about to conduct a mass lay-off.
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Source: 2004 Senate campaign website, ObamaForIllinois.com
Barack Obama on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Jun 21, 2004)
Increase IL minimum wage to $6.50 an hour
A PROVEN RECORD: As a State Senator, Barack Obama has spent his career fighting for Illinois’ working families. - Protected overtime pay.
Obama was the chief sponsor of the law that exempts Illinois from the Bush Administration’s new federal overtime rules and protects overtime pay for thousands of Illinois workers. [SB 1645, 2004]
- Provided a living wage.
Obama voted to increase the minimum wage to $6.50 an hour. [SB600, 2003]
- Worked to ensure advance notice for workers. Obama sponsored the law that requires the monitoring of employer compliance
with federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification laws, so that workers have advance warning if their employer is about to conduct a mass lay-off or close their plant.. [SB0062, 2001]
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Source: Press Release, “Creating Jobs in America”
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Welfare & Poverty Jan 1, 2000)
Working should mean no poverty
No one who takes the responsibility to work hard every day should have to raise their family in poverty, Hillary says. That’s why she supports raising the minimum wage, and equal pay for equal work. She
worked with former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin to increase microcredit programs, which make investment capital available to small businesses.
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Source: www.hillary2000.org “About Hillary”
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Oct 24, 1999)
The working poor deserve a living wage
We should be working to keep a basic bargain with all Americans: If you work hard and are responsible, you will not live in poverty. If you study this issue, you can clearly see it will not hurt the economy, it will not
increase unemployment. There are those who have opposed an increase in the minimum wage, arguing that it will cost jobs, and there are some people who say we need more studies.. They are wrong.
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Source: Speech in Queens
Hillary Clinton on Minimum Wage:
(Jobs Sep 28, 1999)
America can afford to raise the minimum wage
America can afford to raise the minimum wage. The last time it was raised was in 1966, 10 million Americans got a raise and the economy continued to create jobs at a unprecedented pace. Raising the
minimum wage is certainly an American issue and a human issue. But it is particularly a woman’s issue. It is also a children’s issue and a family issue.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Remarks at Minimum Wage Event, Capitol Hill
Page last updated: Mar 01, 2022
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