Livable wages continue to be an important issue among voters, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic, and when it comes to President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the candidates have widely different approaches to raising incomes.
The federal minimum wage sits at just $7.25 an hour and has not seen an increase since 2009. An employee working a full-time job on a minimum wage salary makes just over $15,000 annually, but according to a study by GoBankingRates, the lowest median living wage rate for a U.S. state is about $58,000 in Mississippi.
When questioned about raising the federal minimum wage, President Trump said he would consider it but prefers to let states dictate increases. According to the president, a strong economy would lift wages and not hurt small business owners.
Biden, on the other hand, has committed to raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2026, the amount being part of the demand raised by the #FightFor15. The movement began in New York City in 2012 when more than 200 fast food workers walked out on the job in protest for higher pay.
Critics of a federally mandated increase in the minimum wage agree with the president's view that it would negatively impact small business owners and also would add to job losses, a drop in work hours, and higher prices for consumers.
However, a study by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce contends that a higher minimum wage would actually boost consumer spending and create more jobs.
Israel rolled tanks into northern Gaza for what the military called a targeted raid aiming to destroy Hamas infrastructure. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council failed to pass two separate resolutions proposed by the U.S. and Russia on humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
Republican Mike Johnson is the new speaker of the House, but the ally of Donald Trump inherits many of the same political problems that have tormented past GOP leaders.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday spoke out against retaliatory attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. He also says he's redoubling his commitment to working on a two-state solution.
The U.N. warned on Wednesday that it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory blockaded and devastated by Israeli airstrikes since Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel more than two weeks ago.
The judge in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial fined the former president $10,000 on Wednesday, saying Trump violated a limited gag order barring personal attacks on court staffers.
Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker on Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority.
With mail theft and postal carrier robberies up, law enforcement officials have made more than 600 arrests since May in a crackdown launched to address crime that includes carriers being accosted at gunpoint for their antiquated universal keys, the Postal Service announced Wednesday.
