I’m an Economist: Here’s What Could Happen to Wage Workers if Kamala Harris Is Elected in 2024
With President Biden withdrawing from the 2024 Presidential race as the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris looks to be the favored Democratic nominee. But what can hourly wage workers, ranging from union workers to retail clerks, expect if Harris wins the election?
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To find the answer, it’s important to look at Harris’ past efforts in regard to raising wages for America’s hourly workers, along with policies implemented by the Biden-Harris Administration over the past four years.
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Minimum Wage Increases During the Biden-Harris Administration
In 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour for 70,000 federal workers, and 300,000 federal contractor employees. Workers included customer service representatives, firefighters, custodial workers and more, according to a statement from The White House.
In August 2023, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a rule that would raise wage standards of construction workers. While this rule did not increase the minimum wage, it updated the prevailing wage regulations. Under the act, the prevailing wage is equivalent to the wage paid to at least 30% of workers, rather than 50%. Setting the prevailing wage equal to what 30% of workers make helped ensure that more workers were paid a true prevailing wage, even in regions with employers who dramatically under-pay certain workers.
According to a press statement from The White House, the change will make it easier to keep prevailing wages up to date and in line with wage growth.
Minimum Wage: The Reality
The U.S. has a federally mandated minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. That number has not increased since 2009, although the U.S. has seen year-over-year inflation of 2.58% since that time. According to the CPI Inflation Calculator at OfficialData.org, the U.S. has seen a cumulative price increase of 46.44% since 2009, with $20,000 in 2009 having the purchasing power of $29,288.65 today.
However, the low federal minimum wage has less of an impact on actual wages than you might imagine. States have implemented much higher minimum wages in recent years, with Washington, D.C. setting the highest minimum wage at $17. The state of Washington follows with a minimum wage of $16.38, according to Statista.com.
“A very small percentage of people are actually paid at or below the minimum wage,” explained Dr. Shawn DuBravac, CEO & President, Avrio Institute. “The percent of hourly workers earning at or below the federal minimum wage has fallen from 15% in 1979 to about 1.3% today. Raising the federal minimum wage will likely have very little impact on what people are actually paid.”
Early in the Biden-Harris Administration, Harris was in a position to overrule Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s ruling to remove a $15 minimum wage provision in a Covid-19 relief bill. She didn’t take that action, which meant the minimum wage increase didn’t happen. An article in FinancialTimes.com revealed that Harris has struggled to gain the support of blue-collar workers; a campaign promise to increase minimum wage could improve her standing.
However, improving minimum wage will likely only help a small percentage of workers, according to DuBravac. “The CBO created a calculator to model what raising the federal minimum wage would do… Depending on the assumptions made, the CBO estimates a few million workers would see an increase in their average weekly earnings. There are over 161 million workers in the United States today, so only a small percentage of workers would benefit from a rise in the federal minimum wage,” he said.
Kamala Harris and Support of Unions
But, wage workers don’t just encompass those making minimum wage. More significantly, Harris has also shown support of unions, a fact which could help her garner support from service workers, trade workers, and educators. Her support of unions could help wage workers fight for everything from increased wages to better benefits.
“She has listened to us, and we stand confident that she will continue this administration’s extraordinary record on behalf of working people when she is sworn into office next January,” said IBEW President Kenneth W. Cooper in a statement published by SpectrumNews1.com.
The article showed many unions in support of Harris for President.
The President’s Role in Establishing a Minimum Wage
Regardless of where Harris stands on labor, the U.S. President only has so much power when it comes to setting policies, as DuBravac pointed out. “The President does not have the direct power to change the federal minimum wage on their own. The federal minimum wage is set by Congress through legislation.”
Of course, the President has tremendous influence in regard to policies, and if Harris continues the efforts of the Biden Administration to increase wages and support unions, wage workers could see positive changes in their personal finance and working conditions if Harris is elected.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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