President Donald Trump and Joe Biden debate increasing minimum wage and helping small businesses

Trump and Biden differed sharply on the question of a national minimum wage.

The current national minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and Trump argued that the minimum wage should be left to the states. Biden backed a nationwide $15 minimum wage.

“Small businesses, by raising the minimum wage — that is not helping,” said Trump. “It should be a state option. Alabama is different from New York. New York is different from Vermont. Every state is different. We have to help our small businesses.”

The question of whether raising the minimum wage contributes to unemployment on a macro level is still hotly debated by economists.

Welker pressed Trump on his previous suggestion that he’d consider raising the minimum wage. “I would consider it to an extent,” Trump said. “But not to a level that is going to put all these businesses out of business. It should be a state option. Different places are all different. Some places, $15 is not so bad. In other places, $15 [is good].”

Biden jumped in. “These people are working two jobs, because one job is below poverty,” Biden said. “People are making $6, $7 an hour. These first responders, we clap as they come down the street ... They deserve a minimum wage of $15. Anything below that puts you below the poverty level. And there is no evidence that when you raise the minimum wage, businesses go out of business.”

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[semax]

15 dollar in nyc is nothing. You can't do sht with it.
But 10 dollars in west Virginia, you can do a lot more.

[dannyhantx]

Trump is absolutely right about this. Raising the minimum wage, small businesses will just hire less people.

[sagarbadu]

An uninterrupted presendential debate. 🤩

[Stevo_Keys]

It SHOULD be a state option. Common damn sense.

[tfc]

$15 dollar minimum wage sounds incredible but is so beyond unrealistic

[alphabrain]

Trump: "It should be the state's option" (=Constitutional). Trump is protecting state rights aka being a good president. Biden is trying to expand "federal" authority. VOTE TRUMP 2020!!!

[mint]

Trump is actually right here. Minimum wage cant be the same for a large metropolis vs small rural America

[claudiarios]

I work in a nursing home i get 13.50 an hr went thru classes pass certification and ur telling me that now a person working at mcdonalds is gonna get 15$ an Its sad and ridiculous in my field my god we take care of lives help the elderly see alot of death smh its just wrong

[bobmuller]

Does anyone with a basic knowledge on economics understand that raising the minimum wage will only cause things to be more expensive? If everyone can make at least $15 the people who make $20 an hour won’t get any raise.

[NeepsHD]

Increasing the minimum wage doesn’t work and less in during crisis. Ask my country argentina if not

[generalgrievous]

"I know different places. They're all different"

Ah yes, the floor is made out of floor.

[LivingWateraide]

Biden: Abraham Lincon is the most racist president in modern history.

I have feeling we are going be seeing tht meme for awhile. 🤣😂🤣🤣

[audreyb]

I wish Biden wouldn't have mentioned first responders in this part of the discussion. I'm a first responder in Illinois. When we raised our minimum wage here our company decided that once it reached $15/hour (the state is doing it incrementally) they were going to cap us at that and do away with our yearly raises so we could never make more than $15/hour.

[farmerscoffee]

If you’re a first responder that makes seven dollars an hour please raise your hand. 😂

[benben-slhi]

President Trump slayed it tonight! TRUMP

[batmansillo]

$15 and hour national minimum wage is NEVER gonna happen... so get down of that cloud.

[bassgod]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s no way first responders are making minimum wage. My girlfriend started making $45-$50k as a nurse, so they are getting paid properly, or at least we’ll above minimum wage. Biden’s painting the picture that supporting a higher min wage supports first responders making you evil if you don’t agree. Ridiculous

[aig]

Fast food here pays $10 to $12 an hr and a meals costs $12. 15 yrs ago a meal costed $6 and minimum wage paid about the same $7 hr. Good luck Biden for raising the minimum wage companies will just raise the prices. Pretty simple and wereshort staffed tf

[extinctione]

clap for first responders, bruh he was hating on first responders a month ago 💀💀

[zachb]

States should be the ones that set minimum wages, not the federal government. Look at NY and California, the highest cost of living and the highest minimum wage - any coincidence?