Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a leftist politician, is advocating for a $17 per hour federal minimum wage and a 32-hour workweek without any accompanying decrease in pay for workers.
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, but some states have implemented a higher minimum wage than the federally-mandated floor.
Sanders rejects the notion that these policies represent radical ideas. During remarks on Thursday, the senator stated that on June 14, the Senate HELP Committee would mark up a measure to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 per hour spread across five years. Sanders is chairing the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
In addition, the senator is calling for a 32-hour workweek, pushing the idea in an opinion piece. "It's time to reduce the workweek to 32 hours with no loss in pay. It's time to reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life. It's time to make sure that working people benefit from rapidly increasing technology, not just large corporations that are already doing phenomenally well," Sanders wrote.
Sanders believes that breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and robotics will only accelerate the transformation of the economy. He argues that this transformation should benefit all, not just a few, and create more time for friends and family, relaxation, and more time for all of us to develop our human potential.
Sanders' proposals have been met with mixed reactions. Supporters argue that a higher minimum wage and shorter workweek would improve workers' lives and reduce income inequality. Critics say such policies would lead to job losses and hurt small businesses.
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