Thank you Bernie for proving that artificially raising workers’ salaries can have consequences. But Bernie never ran a lemonade stand, let alone a company, and he probably does not see the irony in giving his campaign workers’ a higher minimum wage but less of a salary.
Via Fox News.
Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced this weekend he will cut staffers’ hours so that they can effectively be paid a $15-an-hour minimum wage, prompting mockery from critics who say the move is more evidence that Sanders’ plan to raise the national minimum wage is hypocritical and would only lead to less work and more unemployment.
The Washington Post first reported last Thursday that Sanders’ field staffers were upset that Sanders championed a $15 minimum wage on the campaign trail, and made headlines for railing against major corporations who pay “starvation wages” — even as his own employees made “poverty wages.”….
The self-described socialist candidate said junior field organizers earn roughly $36,000 per year in salary, with employer-paid health care and sick leave. But he acknowledged that their salary can effectively dip below $15 per hour if staffers work much more than 40 hours per week, which is common on presidential campaigns.
The solution is to “limit the number of hours staffers work to 42 or 43 each week to ensure they’re making the equivalent of $15 an hour,” he told the Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel….
Reaction from commentators and lawmakers was unsparing.
“For the first time in his life, socialist Bernie Sanders practices economics and, buddy, the results are hilarious,” wrote columnist and humorist Stephen Miller. He added: “Why won’t millionaire Bernie Sanders, who owns 3 homes, instead of cutting hours, pay his staff a living wage? People are starving.”
Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw lambasted the discord in the Sanders’ campaign — which has been struggling in post-debate polls — as beyond parody.
“So does this fall under the category of hypocrisy, irony, or poetic justice?” Crenshaw asked. “All three? Can’t make this stuff up.”
I can't stop thinking of how stupid this is. Limiting hours so you can raise wages has literally no effect on how much your employees make. Only benefit is you being able to say you pay them $15 an hour. Beyond cynical. https://t.co/UdlxUBIhvA
— neontaster (@neontaster) July 21, 2019
This string should be pulled. One reason that people work 2 jobs is because businesses cut workers’ hours to evade Obamacare costs. Though this decrease is unlikely to result in pursuit of 2nd job, it is an example signal to business that cutting hours is acceptable response to government worker mandates.
This is disqualifying.
FEEL THE BERN: Self-described socialist can’t afford to pay his staff the $15/hour that he demands of every other employer as part of his platform to be president.