Republican Sen. Rand Paul Says $15 Federal Minimum Wage Will Hurt Black Teens

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that President Joe Biden’s push for a $15 minimum wage would hurt Black teenagers.

During an interview with Hannity, Paul said the minimum wage increase would lead to four million lost jobs in the country.

“The people who lose their jobs first when you hike up the minimum wage are Black teenagers,” said the Kentucky senator. “So, you know, ‘Why does Joe Biden hate Black teenagers?’ should be the question. Why does Joe Biden want to destroy all of these jobs?”

It’s no secret that the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected Black Americans more than any other race in a litany of metrics, including health, money, unemployment, access to credit, and the ability to telecommute.

What Rand did not mention is that multiple reports show a federal minimum wage increase would in fact benefit Black Americans since the majority of low-income workers are people of color. According to a Congressional Budget Office report, raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 could lead to between 0 and 3.7 million jobs being lost, with a median estimate of 1.3 million jobs being lost. The same report said the increase would increase pay for 17 million workers across the country.

The current minimum wage, which hasn’t been increased since 2009, is $7.25, which is the minimum in Kentucky. Twenty-nine states and Washington D.C., have a higher minimum than the federal and many are on track to pay $15 at some point in the future.

This is not the first time Paul has put his foot in his mouth; he has a career full of asinine statements and actions. On Sunday the senator was asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos why he still insists on denying President Biden’s win. Here was his response:

“Well, what I would suggest is–what I would suggest is that if we want greater confidence in our elections, and 75% of Republicans agree with me–is that we do need to look at election integrity and we need to see if we can restore confidence in the elections.”

Paul also said coronavirus survivors (not people who’ve been vaccinated) should celebrate by throwing their masks away, stalled an anti-lynching bill, and was oddly offended by Joe Biden’s inauguration speech