Trump's billionaire Treasury chief nominee says minimum wage should stay at $7.25 per hour
Source: Raw Story
January 16, 2025 1:42PM ET
Billionaire businessman Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Treasury Department, argued that the federal minimum wage should remain at $7.25 an hour.
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) asked Bessent about raising the federal minimum wage.
"Right now in America, we have over 22 million workers who are making less than $15 an hour, and nearly 40 million people in our country earning less than $17 an hour," Sanders explained. "Shamefully, the federal minimum wage, despite the efforts of myself and other people here, have not been raised since 2009 and remains an unbelievable $7.25 an hour."
"Will you work with those of us who want to raise the federal minimum wage to a living wage to take millions of Americans out of poverty?" the senator asked. "Senator, I believe that the minimum wage is more of a statewide and regional issue," Bessent replied.
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/scott-bessent-minimum-wage/
Lovie777
(15,517 posts)magas I blame you.
that will hurt a lot of maga people now wont it.
2naSalit
(94,170 posts)With this one.
yourout
(8,173 posts)TBF
(34,867 posts)rurallib
(63,330 posts)Rebl2
(15,150 posts)and all the oligarchs 🤬
Bernardo de La Paz
(51,817 posts)Bengus81
(7,574 posts)Who better to make that decision than a few BILLIONAIRES..................
twodogsbarking
(12,305 posts)Best be careful.
Wiz Imp
(2,681 posts)He's yet another incompetent sycophant. He has no background in Economics and his public statements show he has no clue how economics works either. He's a hedge fund manager. Absolutely the worst kind of guy to be in charge of the Treasury.
C0RI0LANUS
(2,369 posts)An oligarch with zillions of dollars who couldn't spend it all in ten lifetimes is going to be in charge of the US Treasury and doesn't give a sh#t about us hoi polloi. This is bewildering.
21st Century America is behind Denmark where pay starts at $15.57 per hour and Trumpf wants to annex Greenland.
Irish_Dem
(61,025 posts)Down right sad that they have to stay billionaires.
kacekwl
(7,721 posts)information so he can direct my trickle down payments.
patphil
(7,219 posts)purr-rat beauty
(610 posts)oh hey, here's a state's right card I can play to get out of any pro-citizen thinking
GB_RN
(3,259 posts)In minimum wage, should be forced to live on it for at least a year, with no access to their normal income/assets.
*It should be pegged to inflation, so that we dont keep doing this, over and over, while telling poor people Fuck off. Just not in so many words.
FYI, if minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would have been about $21 an hour back in 14. Wanna know what I was making in 14, as a new grad RN on a cardiothoracic surgery ICU at a major, and prestigious university medical center? A shade over $21 an hour. A four year degree, taking care of the sickest of sick
cardiac patients, making the equivalent of minimum wage. It would be closer to $30, today, which is about what a new RN makes at my hospital (thanks to market adjustments over the last two years).
JoseBalow
(5,942 posts)Shameful
riversedge
(73,752 posts)GreenWave
(9,650 posts)jayschool2013
(2,491 posts)In what state is a $14,500 annual salary a living wage?
Alice B.
(250 posts)Which aligns with the federal minimum wage.
It was in the news recently that many state officials, including our governor, got a raise while neighboring NJ and Delaware raised their minimum wage
but here we are.
https://northeasttimes.com/2025/01/07/philly-area-2025-laws/
dchill
(40,914 posts)OverBurn
(1,120 posts)Hotler
(12,464 posts)For a spending boycott example see Blu25 in DU's Activist forum.
BurnDoubt
(81 posts)He can have the job... for $7.25 an hour. Maybe he'll get a pat on the head from (F)Elon and his side-kick for helping to eliminate Waste In Gubmit!!!!! The uglyarchy is forced to grudgingly "compensate" the "bloodsucking help" until the "work" can be done by machines. And in the meantime, H1B workers can make up the difference in technical expertise, saving more money by letting foreign governments train the labor we need... more savings!!! And a bigger tip for The First Felon.