The president has seemingly undermined the push to raise the minimum wage by acknowledging its dim prospects in Congress, where it faces political opposition and procedural hurdles. “They need to feel the pressure.”The minimum wage debate highlights one of the central tensions emerging in the early days of Biden’s presidency. For now, the measure’s most progressive Senate backers aren’t openly pressuring Biden to step up his campaign for a higher minimum wage. Democrats have long promised an increase — support for a $15 minimum wage was including in the party’s 2016 political platform — but haven’t delivered. Supporters say the coronavirus has made a higher minimum wage all the more urgent since workers earning it are disproportionately people of color.

Source: Egypt Independent February 15, 2021 14:26 UTC