When even Republican Senator Marco Rubio agrees that there is “no evidence whatsoever” President Donald Trump’s tax cuts for the rich have helped American workers, you know it’s time for a different approach.
Here’s one thing that would help hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans and put billions of dollars directly into the wallets of working families: raising the federal minimum wage.
When I think about the minimum wage, I think about my mom and dad.
I grew up the child of Cuban immigrants in a tenement building — my parents worked every shift they could to provide for our family. But back when I was growing up, working a full-time job used to mean you had a shot at the middle class and the American Dream.
Nowadays, too many folks have to work multiple jobs and longer hours just to make ends meet.
A few dollars an hour might seem like pennies to a drug company executive like Bob Hugin, who made millions ripping off cancer patients as the head of Celgene Corp, but it could make all the difference to low-wage workers like service industry employees, carpenters, or to a seamstress like my own mother.
Passing the last federal wage increase in 2007 is something of which I could not be more proud. We gave workers across New Jersey and across the country the opportunity to build a better life. In the years since that, American workers have gone without a raise, politicians have cut taxes numerous times, and income inequality has only increased.
It’s time to do something different — something we know puts money in the pockets of working families and builds an economy that works for everyone. Add your name to demand an increase to the minimum wage.
Thank you.