In a major victory for Bernie Sanders and the progressive movement in America, the Democratic platform drafting committee voted Friday to add language in support of a $15 an hour minimum wage.
The current minimum wage stands at $7.25, and it has been described by those who have to try and support their families on it as a “starvation wage.”
In addition to the minimum wage increase plank the committee voted to support, there were other nods to Senator Sanders, including an “updated and modernized version of Glass-Steagall” and the elimination of the death penalty. Clinton has said that she opposes the reauthorization of Glass-Steagall and supports the death penalty in some cases.
There was also a move to adopt a plank in the platform which would have expressed opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. It had been championed by Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, but was shelved by the committee.
It should be noted that any recommendations made by the platform drafting committee are not automatically part of the final document which will be issued by Democrats at their July convention in Philadelphia. However, it seems unlikely that the minimum wage increase will fail to be a part of the platform. It has long been a mainstay of Democratic economic theory.
While Sanders himself has acknowledged that he will not be the 2016 Democratic nominee, many of his ideas which directly affect working-class Americans seem destined to be part of what the party and its nominee run on as they confront Donald Trump in November.
Trump, meanwhile, has said that it might be a good idea to have no minimum wage at all and also expressed his personal belief that the current $7.25 an hour is too high. It remains to be seen how he will defend such a position in a debate with Clinton.
Featured Image Via YouTube Screengrab
