The Democratic Party ran on an extremely liberal platform cultivated by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, promising free college tuition, student loan forgiveness, and a $15 minimum wage. With the stolen election behind us, Senate Democrats have little use for Bernie’s communist ranting or their “campaign promises.” With enough votes to raise the federal minimum wage, Sanders got “Berned” when fellow party members betrayed him. As the $1.9 trillion relief package clears Congress, his communist policies will never see the light of day.
“The reality is that the minimum wage has lost over 30 percent of its purchasing power since 1968. The minimum wage is worth a lot less now than it used to be,” Sanders reportedly said in an impassioned speech. “If any senator believes this is the last time, they will cast a vote on whether or not to give a raise to 32 million Americans, they are sorely mistaken. We’re going to keep bringing it up, and we’re going to get it done because it is what the American people demand and need.”
It may be Sanders who has it wrong on raising the federal minimum wage by more than double. The Vermont socialist fails to account for facts — go figure — such as seasonal migrant workers who cross the southern border legally to earn far higher wages than they would in Mexico. Those U.S. dollars are funneled back across the border each year. Increasing the federal wage means giving non-citizens $15 per hour that is shipped to Mexico, rising food prices, and inflation. The change would also result in 1.4 million Americans losing their jobs at a time of nationally-high unemployment, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
“Higher wages would increase the cost to employers of producing goods and services. Employers would pass some of those increased costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices, and those higher prices, in turn, would lead consumers to purchase fewer goods and services,” a CBO analysis reportedly stated. “Employers would consequently produce fewer goods and services, and as a result, they would tend to reduce their employment of workers at all wage levels.”
Before the measure came to a vote, Biden’s advisors went on the record stating they adamantly support raising the rate.
“We’ve seen millions of American workers put their lives and health on the line to keep our country going,” Biden’s transition team stated on its official website. “As Biden has said, let’s not just praise them, let’s pay them — a decent wage, at least $15 per hour.”
Although Sanders made the case that liberals would succeed in causing widespread economic upheaval and job losses, at least eight colleagues and Joe Biden threw him under the bus.
Now seated in the White House, reports indicate that Sleepy Joe says his hands are tied. Of course, it’s increasingly difficult to quote Biden because he recently set a record for avoiding questions from reporters. And although Biden stated during the 2020 elections, “I am the party,” eight Senators who caucus with Democrats broke ranks and joined Republicans opposing the irresponsible hike. Moderates such as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, among others, agree with Republicans that a minimum wage increase to approximately $11 could be responsibly rolled out over a few years.
All that radical left talk that positioned Bernie Sanders as a standard-bearer proved to be more Democrat lies. Sadly, Sanders looks like a tired old political hack after this public policy flogging. It looks like Sanders finally got to “feel the Bern,” as his followers like to say.
