Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said Monday that the minimum wage should be raised to $10 per hour, citing the widening gulf between the wealthy and the working poor.
“We need to raise the minimum wage,” Boxer told MSNBC’s Ed Schultz. “That will make a huge difference out there. People are struggling. The difference between the very wealthy and the working poor has grown. We raise that minimum wage and we move forward with the vision of this president that we have, which is everyone pays their fair share. We make investments where it matters. We’re going to be…it’s going to be a great century for us.”
When Schutlz asked her what she would raise the minimum wage to, the California Democrat said “about $10.”
“I think that would be right,” she added.
In his State of the Union address in February, President Barack Obama called for the minimum wage to be raised to $9 per hour, a proposal that was swiftly rejected by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). Shortly after the State of the Union, a poll from right-leaning Rasmussen Reports found 54 percent of Americans in favor of Obama’s proposal.
The federal minimum wage currently stands at $7.25 per hour.
