Former Vice President Joe Biden said he would push for a $15-per-hour minimum wage and rejected the idea that it would hurt small businesses. He was responding to a question on where he stands on raising the federal minimum wage as part of the final U.S. presidential debate on Thursday night.
“There is no evidence that when you raise the minimum wage, businesses go out of business,” said the former Vice President.
President Donald Trump argued that the minimum wage should be left as an issue for the states to determine.
“How are you helping your small businesses when you’re forcing wages? What’s going to happen, and what’s been proven to happen, is when you do that, these small businesses fire many of their employees,” he said.
The minimum wage is now $7.25 an hour.
Proponents of increasing it say the minimum wage has not kept up with inflation, making it harder for workers to make ends meet.
