The White House is still pushing the president's proposal to hike the federal minimum wage.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki says a $15 federal minimum wage would benefit families.
“Lifting 27 million American workers out of poverty, reducing inequality, would be a very positive step,” Psaki told reporters Tuesday.
However, a recent Congressional Budget Office report found the move would lift 900,000 out of poverty. In addition, 1.4 million Americans would lose their jobs, and it would add 54 billion dollars to the deficit over the next decade.
“Anytime you are increasing the minimum wage, there will be job losses, but a federal $15 minimum wage is particularly drastic, and if the Biden administration forces it through anyway, it’s going to be workers on the frontlines of this pandemic who end up paying the price,” Brad Polumbo, Editor at the Foundation for Economic Education, said.
Polumbo cites California as an example of a state government who raised their minimum wage, and thousands across the state lost their jobs as a result.