Joe Sanberg, a business leader and anti-poverty activist called an increase in minimum wage for most workers in California “a wildly popular policy.”
“This is a wildly popular policy. Sixty percent-plus of Californians want a minimum wage of $18 or higher,” Sanberg said while appearing on Hill.TV’s “Rising.”
The $18 an hour wave proposal is higher than the $15 approved by California and that will be implemented by several other states in coming years. A group led by Sanberg has led to the filing of a ballot initiative that would raise the minimum wage again by 2025 for businesses with more than 25 employee, according to San Diego’s KGTV.
By Sanberg’s calculator, the wage raise equals $6,420 per year for more than 5 million workers, an estimate of $24 per day, which he said could also address child poverty.
“That’s the difference between whether kids are getting one or two meals a day or three meals a day. Are we sending California kids to school with empty stomachs? Or with stomachs filled with healthy food?” he said.
Sanberg said he believes the $18 minimum wage proposal could further help employees earn a living wage that would benefit the economy..
“If you believe that workers should earn a living wage, if you believe that the best way to grow the entire economy, is to put more money in the pockets of workers who then spend it at local businesses, then you know where you stand,” Sanberg said.
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