January, 14 2021, 11:00pm EDT
Patriotic Millionaires Statement on $15 Minimum Wage in Biden's "American Rescue Plan"
"A higher minimum wage isn't just a win for minimum wage workers—it's good for businesses, investors, and the economy as a whole."
WASHINGTON
Yesterday, President-Elect Joe Biden released details of his coronavirus relief plan, the "American Rescue Plan." Included among many provisions for much-needed government spending was a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and eliminate the subminimum tipped wage. In response, Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director of BlackRock, Inc., issued the following statement:
"Raising the minimum wage is one of the best economic stimulus policies out there, and it's encouraging to see the incoming Biden administration prioritize it in their stimulus package. Raising the wage means putting more money into the hands of low wage workers who will immediately spend it back in their local economies. With 40% of American workers making less than $15 an hour, lifting the federal minimum wage creates an incredible boost in consumer demand, the backbone of our economy.
If the economic crisis the coronavirus has caused has taught us anything, it's that businesses live and die based on how many people are spending money on their goods or services. That's why a higher minimum wage isn't just a win for minimum wage workers - it's good for businesses, investors, and the economy as a whole as well."
For more information or for interview requests, email Sam Quigley at Sam@patrioticmillionaires.org.
The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.
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Anthony Rota, speaker of Canada's House of Commons and a member of the Liberal Party, hailed Hunka during a ceremony late last week as "a Ukrainian hero" and "a Canadian hero" who fought for "Ukrainian independence against the Russians" and "continues to support the troops today."
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The group continued:
At a time of rising antisemitism and Holocaust distortion, it is incredibly disturbing to see Canada's Parliament rise to applaud an individual who was a member of a unit in the Waffen-SS, a Nazi military branch responsible for the murder of Jews and others and that was declared a criminal organization during the Nuremberg Trials. There should be no confusion that this unit was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.
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