Harris labels current federal minimum wage as ‘poverty’ pay

Harris labels current federal minimum wage as ‘poverty’ pay

The Democratic presidential candidate pledges to raise the current minimum pay of US$7.25 an hour.

Kamala Harris
Vice-President Kamala Harris speaks with the press aboard Air Force Two at Philadelphia International Airport. (AP pic)
ROYAL OAK:
Vice-President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said on Monday the US must raise its federal minimum wage, and she labelled the current minimum wage of US$7.25 an hour as “poverty wages.”

Harris tried to draw a contrast with Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump on this issue. Trump and Harris face each other in what polls show to be a tight race for the Nov 5 US elections.

On Sunday, Trump conducted a campaign stop in a closed McDonald’s restaurant in suburban Philadelphia, where he did not answer directly when asked if he would support an increase in the minimum wage that would benefit fast-food workers.

“The current federal minimum wage is US$7.25 an hour, which means that the person who is working a full day and full weeks will make US$15,000 a year, which is essentially poverty wages,” Harris told reporters during a campaign stop in Royal Oak, Michigan.

“I absolutely believe that we must raise minimum wage,” she added. Harris did not mention the exact amount to which she wanted the minimum wage raised in her remarks on Monday.

Both Trump and Harris have in recent weeks made economic pledges to woo voters.

Harris has said she will aim to pass a middle class tax cut, while Trump has advocated cutting taxes on overtime pay. Both candidates have supported eliminating taxes on tips.

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