New Hampshire Democratic Sen. [crscore]Jeanne Shaheen[/crscore] denounced Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump Monday for wanting to leave minimum wage decisions up to the states.
Shaheen made her attack while on a conference call to advocate for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Clinton New Hampshire campaign organized the call to rally more support in the state while also bashing Trump. Shaheen denounced Trump for saying the minimum wage would be best left to the states.
“[It’s] the only wage security that working families in New Hampshire have,” Shaheen said according to the local ABC affiliate. “[It] would take the floor out from under 47,000 low-income workers in the state and affect 11,000 children of these workers.”
Trump argued during a Sunday interview with NBC the federal government should leave the minimum wage up to the states. Shaheen noted the idea would hurt workers in states that have a minimum wage below the federal floor. The federal minimum wage is currently at $7.25 an hour.
Trump has been sympathetic of low-wage earners, but still argues states are best equipped to judge an appropriate wage floor for their residents. He also noted the competition between states would help yield the best results. The Clinton campaign was quick to denounce the idea.
Trump and Clinton have both struggled to maintain a consistent view on the minimum wage. Trump said Nov. 12 during a Fox News interview he believes the minimum wage should not be increased. He later tweeted Dec. 28 wages were too low. Clinton originally said the federal minimum wage should not exceed $12 an hour but said she meant that as a step toward eventually reaching $15 an hour.
Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders has supported the $15 minimum wage throughout the election. Supporters of the minimum wage increase argue it could help lift people out of poverty, but critics warn it could actually hurt the very people it’s trying to help by forcing employers to cutback on their workforce or raise prices to overcome the added cost of labor.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
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