California State Representative Supports $26 Per Hour Minimum Wage [VIDEO]

Representative Barbara Lee, D-Calif., appeared on CNN’s “Crossfire,” insisting that she would support an increase of the states minimum wage to the tune of $26 an hour.

Beginning around the 3:00 mark of the video, the California Democrat says she feels that the dramatic hike to the minimum wage in her state would not affect small businesses negatively, nor would it affect unemployment.

Lee, who mentioned that she was a small business owner with a 300-plus person staff before coming to Congress, cites “regional factors” in her belief that it is clear the minimum wage needs to be increased significantly.

“In California, more than likely, from what I remember, a living wage – where people could live and take care of their families, and move toward achieving the American Dream was about $25, $26 an hour,” said Lee on the CNN program.

“Trust me, believe you me, you would have a more productive workforce. You would have people who could afford to live in areas now where they cannot afford to live. You could increase diversity in certain communities where you don’t have diversity, you would have economic parity.”

Also appearing on the show, Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md. said he feels that an adjustment to the minimum wage on a state level would be a decision left to the sates, but that the national minimum wage “should be left where it is.”

Republican Senator Tom Coburn doesn’t feel that minimum wage should be a national issue at all, telling MSNBC, “I don’t believe there ought to be a national minimum wage. That’s my position.”

According to CNN, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray proposed his new plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 on the same day that Lee appeared on “Crossfire.”

Washington already has the highest level of minimum wage set at $9.32, and if Seattle’s proposal passes they will see a minimum wage of more than double that of the national minimum.

Huffington Post writer Carmen Berkley shared her opinion on the conversation regarding raising the national minimum wage in a recent article, saying that it will give Americans a better chance to succeed all together.

“We live in America, the country where we are taught any dream can come true. Where young Latinas can aspire to be Supreme Court Justices and young Black men can look to be the President of the United States. But that cannot happen if their parents are working low-paying jobs and unable to provide them with the resources they need to achieve those dreams,” she wrote.

Adding, “we need to raise the minimum wage to at least $10.10 to help hardworking families who are struggling to scrape by.”

What do you think about Rep. Barbara Lee’s support of raising the California minimum wage to $26 per hour?