Obama wants to raise the minimum wage. Where does this leave the GOP?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.On these isles the Living Wage campaign - which proposes a minimum wage in line with the cost of living - has won support across Westminster, with Boris and Ed Miliband strident backers. Now there's some similar momentum in the US. President Obama announced in his State of the Union address an intention to lift the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 an hour, and take thousands of workers out of poverty. So how's this playing out politically?
Pretty well for Democrats, says Eleanor Clift at the Daily Beast. Raising the wage polls well, and even better, it puts Republicans on the wrong side of public opinion. House Speaker John Boehner dismissed the idea, claiming that a lift in wages leads to less employment. Others in the GOP acknowledge they may look flat-footed in opposition to a widely popular move.
For instance The Atlantic's Garance Franke-Ruta notes that Republicans won't want to be seen fighting against a proposal that has particular appeal with Hispanics and women; two demographics they're desperate to court. A minimum wage campaign, says Franke-Ruta, might be a fresh "wedge issue", able to cast a GOP desperate to reinvent itself as "the party of the rich, the already-established and the intransigent" once more.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments