Sen. Bernard Sanders on Thursday night mocked Hillary Clinton’s claim that she now supports a $15 minimum wage, calling her position confusing and charging that she’s merely trying to score political points with progressive voters.
“When this campaign began, I said that we’ve got to end the starvation minimum wage of $7 and a quarter, raise it to $15,” Mr. Sanders said at a Democratic presidential debate in Brooklyn. “Secretary Clinton said, ’Raise it to $12.’ There’s a difference. What has happened is history has outpaced Secretary Clinton because all over this country people are standing up and saying $12 is not good enough.”
Mrs. Clinton has taken a more nuanced position on the minimum wage. She has called for a $12 wage at the federal level but supports cities and states — including New York, which recently enacted legislation to gradually raise the wage to $15 — that want to go beyond $12.
“The minimum wage at the national level right now is $7.25. We want to raise it higher than it ever has been, but we also have to recognize some states and some cities will go higher, and I support that,” Mrs. Clinton said.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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