Republished from The Prairie Badger
Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker recently stated in an interview with the right-wing editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he thought that the minimum wage served no purpose:
What Walker said about the minimum wage was absolutely, 100% false. The minimum wage serves two main purposes that I can think of off of the top of my head.
The first main purpose that the minimum wage serves is to prevent working people from living in poverty. Unfortunately, it is true that, even with minimum wage laws on the books in this country, there are people who work full-time jobs and still live in poverty. However, if there were no minimum wage laws on the books in this country, there are many employers in this country who would pay people considerably lower wages than they’re legally required to pay workers, which would mean that even more people would be in poverty than there are now. Additionally, any significant increase in the minimum wage would lift thousands, or even millions, or workers in this country out of poverty.
The second main purpose that the minimum wage serves is to stimulate the economy. Since the vast majority of economic activity in this country consists of consumer spending, the minimum wage puts more money in the pockets of working poor people in this country than they would have if there was no minimum wage. Additionally, any increase in the minimum wage would result in more money in the pockets of working poor people than they currently have. If you put more money in the pockets of working poor people, they’re going to spend it right away on food, clothing, and other things that are needed to provide for themselves and their families, thus stimulating the economy.
Pro-poverty Republican Scott Walker is absolutely wrong to claim that the minimum wage serves no purpose, because it serves multiple purposes.