Fact Sheet: Debunking GOP Myths about the Minimum Wage
ICYMI: Gov. Holcomb Insults Essential Workers, Calls Minimum Wage Jobs a “Minimum Expectation”
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today called on Governor Eric Holcomb and the Indiana Republican Party to join Democrats in an effort to raise the state’s minimum wage and provide better pathways to success for the more than 892,000 Hoosiers – including more than 550,000 women – who currently have a minimum wage job in Indiana. The request comes after Governor Holcomb issued an executive order requiring Hoosiers requesting unemployment benefits to prove they are actively searching for a job. Raising the state’s minimum wage would help relieve Indiana from its worker shortage, but it’d require Republicans to put down their extreme partisanship on the issue itself.
“The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on why a living wage is necessary in order for Hoosier families to have a shot at a better future in Indiana. So while Governor Holcomb is guiding Hoosiers back to a pre-pandemic normalcy, we cannot ignore the reality that it’s time for Indiana to increase its minimum wage and provide better opportunities for our workers,” said Lauren Ganapini, executive director for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Over 892,000 Hoosiers currently earn a minimum wage job, and while it’s a goal for every worker to achieve their highest potential, we must do everything possible to create a bridge to help all Hoosiers succeed.”
The Indiana Democratic Party has been consistent in its call for elected leaders in state and federal office to increase the state’s minimum wage. According to the Economic Policy Institute, more than 892,000 Hoosiers – including more than 550,000 women – earn a minimum wage. Democrats view this as a common-sense solution to an obvious problem in the state, and it’s why leaders like State Senator Eddie Melton have stepped up in demanding this opportunity to become reality for the state.
The same cannot be said for the Indiana Republican Party who time and again have relied on myths and conspiracy theories as an excuse to oppose this common-sense proposal. In fact, Democrats produced this fact sheet that debunks these GOP myths about the minimum wage, because Governor Eric Holcomb, U.S. Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young, and statehouse Republicans have all used their extreme partisanship to oppose this measure — with Holcomb going as far as to compare Hoosiers having a minimum wage job to having a “minimum expectation” with their lives.
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