Missouri Representative Dan Shaul (R-Jefferson County) isn’t happy with a recent court ruling that allows cities in Missouri to increase their own minimum wage. As a result, he’s proposed new legislation denying cities the right to take such an action.
His reasoning? Minimum wage jobs aren’t designed to be living wage.
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Shaul said, “The minimum wage wasn’t meant to be a living wage. I’m all for family sustainable wages, and I certainly don’t want a family to have to work two or three jobs to get by. But grocery store baggers and fast food work isn’t where you should be working to sustain your family.
“We need to work to bring in high paying jobs into the state. Raising the minimum wage is only going to drive businesses out of the city of St. Louis.”
Rep. Shaul argues that if you are in one of these jobs, it is either your fault or you shouldn’t have a family.
Rep. Shaul, who has a zero voting record from Planned Parenthood and NARAL, has of course been opposed to any sort of family planning options, but his new attack on cities seeking to set a higher wage is based on the idea that… people should be better family planners.
“My feeling is that the state minimum wage should be the minimum wage,” Shaul said Thursday. “The legislature acted in 2015 to provide consistency across the state for employees and employers and avoid a patchwork of laws.”
Rep Shaul, however, doesn’t address the reality that the cost of living in many areas of Missouri are radically different than the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas.
Missouri, he argues, should work harder to attract high paying jobs, but for people who work minimum wage jobs and have a family?
Sorry, no help for you.