Enzi Says Minimum Wage Hike is a “Job Killer”

In Wednesday’s debate in the US Senate over raising the minimum wage, Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi spoke out forcefully against the idea. The President backed a Democratic plan to hike the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10, but in an essentially party-line vote, the Senate blocked the proposal from going to the floor for full debate.

Enzi was one who called the bill a “job killer.”

“My colleagues gloss over the fact that the minimum wage is for entry-level employees. Young people and those new to the workforce are those who typically earn the minimum wage because it is their first job or opportunity to gain career skills. This is evidenced by the fact that a majority of minimum wage earners are between the ages of 16 and 24. These jobs are where workers learn to be dependable and how to work with other employees. This is why two-thirds of employees who start at the minimum wage are earning more than the minimum wage within a year.

The minimum wage does not need to go up for minimum-wage employees to get a raise. The proposal before the Senate throws cold water on job creation and adds to the burdens businesses are already facing under the President’s failed health care program. Instead the Senate should be considering proposals which promote job growth. Let’s consider tax reform, growing U.S. exports and approving the Keystone XL Pipeline as several of my colleagues recently highlighted.

“The problem we are facing is one of minimum skills – not minimum wages.”