The poor and working poor who voted for Donald Trump may have no idea what they were voting for, but Trump candidates like Scott Bessent are spelling it out on their behalf. .
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asked this question during Mr. Bessent’s Senate confirmation hearing as Treasury secretary. The hourly wage in our country is less than 17. Embarrassingly, the federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009, despite my and others’ efforts, and remains at an incredible $7.25 an hour. Will you join us in raising the federal minimum wage to a living wage to lift millions of Americans out of poverty? ”
“Senator, I believe the minimum wage is a statewide and local issue,” Bessent responded.
Sanders continued: “So you think the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour shouldn’t change?”
Bessent said, “No, sir.”
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With prices and inflation still high, America’s working poor need a higher minimum wage.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics“In 2023, hundreds of thousands of American workers were working at or below the federal minimum wage.” Among workers paid hourly, 81,000 workers were making less than the current federal minimum wage. I was making exactly the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Approximately 789,000 workers were paid less than the federal minimum wage. The share of hourly workers earning less than the current federal minimum wage declined slightly from 1.3% in 2022 to 1.1% in 2023. ”
The majority of these workers are in the hospitality and food service industries.
TLamp beat Kamala Harris among those making less than $50,000 a year. And with President Trump in office, these Americans will face even more difficult times. During his first term, President Trump has advocated an aggressive policy of lowering wages for American workers.
As Mr. Bessent’s response made clear, the Trump administration has no intention of standing by American workers.
What do you think about Bessent’s comments? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
