The Sconi

Sen. Melissa Agard is among proponents of raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage. 

The state’s current minimum wage is $7.25 an hour which matches the federal minimum wage, according to Politifact.

“It's beyond time we #RaiseTheWage in Wisconsin,” Agard wrote in a July 6 Twitter post.

The argument for raising the minimum wage based on the fact that it has not risen in the past decade and has not matched the rate of inflation for the past 50 years has been verified as a valid claim by Politifact.

While supporters of raising the minimum wage believe it would reduce poverty, opponents feel it will lead to increased labor costs and thus would cause companies to reduce their workforce or hire less employees.

TMJ4 reports many of those against raising the minimum wage point to the fact that there are 9.3 million open jobs in the country right now, a fact which has been supported by the Bureau of Labor statistics.

In Wisconsin’s budget, as reported by Politifact, Gov. Tony Evers had proposed to raise the state’s minimum wage to $8.60 this year followed by $10.15 in 2024. His attempt was shut down by Republican lawmakers.