OAN’s Brooke Mallory
6:11 PM – Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Rep. Barbara Lee justified her call for a $50 federal minimum wage this week by pointing out how expensive living expenses are in her state.
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The statements were made during a Senate debate in which the Democrat opponents of Representative Lee (D-Calif) demanded minimum hourly pay between $20 and $25.
“I know what worker productivity means, and that means that you have to make sure your employees are taken care of and have a living wage,” Rep. Lee said.
Later, while citing a United Way report, the official went on to say that $127,000 is “just barely enough to get by” for a family of four in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Additionally, Lee used another example to assert that someone earning $104,000 a year would be considered low-income in the state.
“Just do that math. Just do that math,” Rep. Lee said. “Of course we have national minimum wages that we need to raise to a living wage. You’re talking about 20, 25 dollars, fine. But I have got to be focused on what California needs and what the affordability factor is when we calculate this wage.”
Lee is currently running to replace Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein, who died last year in 2023. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif) has decided not to seek reelection.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) mocked the idea and jokingly posted, “Why not $500 per hour?” on social media on Tuesday.
The federal minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour, and the minimum wage in California is currently $16 per hour. An hourly pay of $50 would translate into $104,000 per year for a 40-hour work week.
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