California Rep. Barbara Lee, who is currently running to represent the state in the United States Senate, proposed a $50 federal minimum wage.
Lee made her remarks during the Monday night Senate debate with fellow Democratic candidates Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Katie Porter, and former MLB All-Star Steve Garvey, the lone Republican candidate.
Moderator Nikki Laurenzo of Fox 40 said Porter and Schiff had both called for a $20-25 federal minimum wage and noted Lee had proposed a $50 federal minimum wage last October.
"Can you explain how that would be economically sustainable for small businesses?" Laurenzo asked.
Lee said she had owned and ran a small business for eleven years, claiming to have created "hundreds of jobs" in the process.
"Benefits, retirement benefits, also healthcare benefits. I know what worker productivity means, and that means you have to make sure that your employees are taken care of and have a living wage," Lee responded. "Just do the math!"
"Of course we have national minimum wages that we need to raise to a living wage," she continued, referencing Porter and Schiff's $20-25 minimum wage increase. "But I have got to be focused on what California needs, and what the affordability factor is when we calculate this wage."
Garvey responded to Lee's proposal saying, "Minimum wage is where it is and should be."
“If you look at what California has done to fast food franchises right now, increasing the minimum wage to $20. Then what’s going to happen?" Garvey asked. "That’s going to increase costs for hard-working Californians to go to a franchise.”
“Instead of a Big Mac for $9, it’s going to be $15," he added.
Although Schiff and Porter agreed on a $20 federal minimum wage, Porter said she would hope for California to set a $25 state minimum wage.
Last September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation increasing the state's minimum wage to $20 for statewide fast-food workers at franchises with 60 or more locations throughout the country. The minimum wage increase is set to take effect this April, though the state's overall minimum wage remains at $16 per hour, up 50 cents from the previous year.
Several business owners in California have recently commented on the upcoming minimum wage increase for fast-food workers.
Los Angeles-based Marcus Walberg, an operator of four Fatburger franchises in the area, said his businesses were implementing staffing freezes, lowering hours for employees, and raising prices for menu items in preparation for the upcoming fast-food worker minimum wage increase.
Walberg said he was implementing the changes to ensure the new minimum wage wouldn't "bring us down," adding there would be a "lot of pain to workers" as franchise owners adapt to the legislation.
"It's a scary thing because customers are already complaining that prices are too high," he said, per Business Insider. "This program should have been phased in over time instead of jumping the California minimum wage for our staff by 25% in one single day." "An entry-level manager is now going to want more than $20 an hour," Walberg said. "All that translates back to the customer having to pay more money because the landlords aren't going to drop the rent. The money has to come from somewhere."
