Bernie Sanders cautions against opposing $17 minimum wage, citing potential political repercussions.

Ben WilsonMay 5, 2023

Sen. Bernie Sanders Warns Democrats Opposing $17 Minimum Wage Proposal

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) has a strong message for Democrats who oppose his proposal to raise the minimum wage to $17 per hour. “I don’t think there’s a state in the country where people do not believe we should raise the minimum wage. I would hope that every member of Congress understands and there will be political consequences … if they don’t,” Sanders said on Thursday.

Sanders is pushing a proposal that would raise the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour to $17 over the next five years. He supported a similar measure in 2021 to raise the minimum wage to $15 but was unsuccessful because eight Senate Democrats opposed the bill.

Three Senators Face Tough Reelection Races

This time, three of those same senators face tough races in the 2024 midterms, the Hill reported. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who left the Democratic Party in December to become an Independent, are all up for reelection.

Schumer wants to protect his vulnerable colleagues from taking tough votes before the 2024 election, when Democrats will have to defend 23 seats to keep their narrow Senate majority. Manchin said in 2021 he would instead support raising the minimum wage to $11 an hour and indexing it for inflation. Tester at the time voiced concern about imposing a sudden and dramatic increase in the minimum wage.

Majority of Americans Stressed About Finances

The proposal comes as the majority of Americans are stressed about finances. A CNBC poll showed that 70 percent of Americans “admit to being stressed about their personal finances these days.” Sixty percent of respondents blamed inflation, which the Biden administration is downplaying. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said last month that the country “is doing very well.”