By flipping on the Hyde Amendment, Joe Biden ditched his moderate position on abortion by supporting taxpayer funding for it. Now it’s clear that he isn’t moderate on the minimum wage either. According to Biden’s website, the former vice president wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $15.
Right now, 22 states have a minimum wage of $7.25 (the current federal minimum wage), which means Biden’s policy would force these states to more than double their minimum wage. 38 states have a minimum wage under $10 and would see an increase of at least 50%. And right now, not a single state has a minimum wage of $15.
Minimum wage laws need to be decided at the most local level possible. Even in very expensive and highly populated states such as California and New York, a $15 minimum wage would be incredibly harmful to rural areas where the cost of living is relatively low.
It should go without saying that local government officials understand what their economies can bear better than career politicians in Washington like Biden. There’s no sense imposing a cookie cutter model on all 50 states, completely ignoring the diversity of communities and economies within each of them.
This policy would surely cause issues for Biden in the general election against Trump. Swing states Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio all have minimum wages below $9. Blue states with low minimum wages, such as Nevada and New Hampshire, may come into play for Trump as well. Even if Biden’s policy doesn’t turn moderate Democrats into Trump voters, it could dampen Democratic enthusiasm and turnout enough to hand Trump a few more victories.
Biden’s minimum wage virtue-signaling may pan out for him in the Democratic primary. But once we get to the general election, it could cause him quite a bit of trouble.
