January, 25 2021, 11:00pm EDT
Patriotic Millionaires Praise the Raise the Wage Act as "An Incredible Long-Term Economic Stimulus"
"With businesses closing left and right because they don't have enough customers, we can't afford not to raise wages right now."
WASHINGTON
This afternoon, Representative Bobby Scott, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Patty Murray, Representative Pramila Jayapal, and Representative Stephanie Murphy formally introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which if passed would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. This would be the first increase in the federal minimum wage in over a decade.
In response, Morris Pearl, the Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and a former managing director of BlackRock, Inc., issued the following statement:
"Raising the federal minimum wage isn't just good for workers, it's good for businesses and investors as well. The current federal minimum wage of just $7.25 an hour has left a wide swath of the American workforce unable to fully participate in our consumer economy.
40% of Americans report being unable to afford an unexpected $400 expense. How much do you think someone who can't afford housing or groceries is going to be spending at their local businesses or restaurants? How much is someone who couldn't scrape together $400 in an emergency going to be contributing to their local economy? Raising the minimum wage is about so much more than just helping poor workers - it's an incredible long-term economic stimulus.
The Raise the Wage Act could not come at a more important time. Critics will say we can't afford to raise wages in the middle of a pandemic. But with businesses closing left and right because they don't have enough customers, we can't afford not to raise wages right now. Our economy needs a boost in consumer spending that can only come from putting more money into the hands of low wage workers who will immediately spend it."
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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