When it comes to the minimum-wage issues, there’s a huge gulf between Sen. John McCain and his Democratic challenger, Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick.

Last week, Kirkpatrick came out in support of Prop 206, the Fair Wages and Healthy Families Act that voters will decide in the November election.

The proposition would increase the Arizona minimum wage from the current $8.05 an hour to $10 in 2017 and $12 by 2020, with future increases based on cost-of-living adjustments. It would also mandate that employers provide with at least three days of sick leave.

Kirkpatrick said that she encouraged “every voter to stand with Arizona families” in a prepared statement.

“No one who works 40 hours a week should have to live in poverty and decide between buying groceries, medicine or paying the bills,” said Kirkpatrick. “Raising the minimum wage offers hardworking families the opportunity to put food on the table, care for their children, and creates a better future for our state.”

But in an interview with the Weekly, McCain said the proposition would be bad for Arizona families.

“Twice I’ve talked to groups of franchisees here in Arizona, Taco Bell and McDonalds, those places that give you the first rung on the ladder,” McCain said. “They said, ‘Fine. The next time you drive up to a window, you won’t be talking to a person. The next time you they hand you a hamburger and French fries, it will come out a slot. … They have a certain profit margin. They cannot raise their cost of their product or people will stop purchasing it. So what are they going to do? They’re going to automate. So somebody is going to have to convince me that it’s good for employment in America, and I don’t think it is.”

Prop 206 has the support of the Arizona Education Association, Arizona AFL-CIO, Arizona Building Trades and Construction Council, Pima Area Labor Federation, Planned Parenthood Arizona, United Food and Commercial Workers and other groups.

But business organizations such as the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Tucson Metro Chamber and Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are opposed to the initiative.

“We understand there are federal guidelines and so far we’re comfortable with those guidelines,” Tucson Metro Chamber President & CEO Mike Varney told the Weekly earlier this year. “We don’t see the need for states to change those guidelines.”

Beyond the proposition that Arizona voters will decide, McCain has a mixed record on the minimum wage at the federal level. While he has generally voted against Democratic proposals to increase the federal minimum wage, he has supported GOP alternatives, according to a 2008 PolitiFact summary of his record. For example, he supported a hike in the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 as part of a larger package that also included business tax breaks and Iraq war funding.

Kirkpatrick has been supportive of Democratic proposals to raise the federal minimum wage while in Congress.

This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2016.

Getting hassled by The Man Mild-mannered reporter

15 replies on “McCain and Kirkpatrick Split on AZ Min Wage Prop”

  1. But is she thinking that $40 per week increase would pull them out of poverty? My bet is that she has not thought this through. I taught my kids to take the $8 job and work your way up. It’s better than no job. Minimum wage used to be for starters.

  2. Hey, I think John McCain may be on to something there with that automation comment.

    How about replacing all the federal representatives with robots that are programed to actually vote in accordance with the wishes of the people they represent. The robots will not “require” two residences, one in their home state and one in Washington D.C.; they won’t get a full pension and medical benefits for the rest of their life for serving less time than it takes for a U.S. armed forces member to retire with full benefits; and they can’t be bought by special interests and dark money.

    Of course, we’ll have to work out that “shall we play a game” issue and program them to leave Sarah Conner alone, but it’s a start.

  3. that tantrum that corporations throw about replacing fast food workers with automations holds about as much weight as when reagan was paid to preach by the AMA that universal healthcare would lead to communism. there are many countries around the world where mcdonalds operates where their employees are making more than 12 dollars an hour and they have not been replaced with machines.

  4. David Neumark is the nation’s premier researcher on minimum wage. Neumark wrote a whole book on the subject (Minimum Wages, Amazon), wherein he sifted through hundreds of studies to determine the effects of minimum wage.

    Neumark found that putting a minimum wage into law severely hurts the poor by reducing their incomes. It now only reduces the incomes of the poor immediately but it changes the trajectory of their entire economic lives by denying them the work experiences that enable them to climb the ladder of economic opportunity.

    We see this most severely recently with the economic downturn. 85% of African American youth, 16 to 24 years, are locked out of the job market. We have an all time record number of job openings and 85% unemployment.

    The minimum wage causes jobs to shift from the poor to the children of the rich and it further reduces incomes by reducing the total number of jobs.

    The minimum wage provides very little benefit to anyone as 85% of people who work in minimum wage are at higher levels within three years.

    Bad in theory bad in practice, politically popular. We are still the people who believed the world was flat and the earth the center of the universe.

  5. None of the raging fears of the right have ever materialized from minimum wage increases. Regardless of Neumark’s premier status, minimum wages have been law for a long time now.

    “Neumark found that putting a minimum wage into law severely hurts the poor by reducing their incomes.”

    Ridiculous and contrary to actual years of data.

  6. Really Katie? Try reading up on what has happened to Seattle since they made a sharp left turn. Business is leaving the city. Employees will follow. Start over.

  10. Anything BUT a tabloid.

    None of those types of articles truly matter though. There is NO proof that raising the minimum wage to a fair living wage is not going to shut down most businesses. There is proof of the disappearance of the middle-class though, and if you know anything, they are the people who help contribute more than anyone else to help those in need.

    Those who already have it REALLY want to hold on to it. They help nothing but themselves, yet they run the majority of the businesses. This is the main reason why the minimum wage needs to be raised to at least the proposed $12/hour by 2020. It’s time to give the lower wage earners more of a fair shake.

  11. I notice you posted no link to back up your opinion. It sounds like you want to punish success, by calling it “fair shake” and “fair living wage.” Have you ignored the addage that life is not fair, and sometimes you have to make your own opportunities? Why did the middle class disappear? Oh yeah, politicians shipped their jobs out of the country, and then took donations to their charitable foundations didn’t they?

    It still looks like the harm is done by government, no matter where you stand.

  13. Exposure!!

    What is the town clown thinking is definitely a fat cat! Padding political pockets while simultaneously acting as if it is the gubment’s fault BOTH WAYS. It’s one way or the other. The gubment is simply the middle man. Anyone with COMMON SENSE knows that. But, in case you’re like the town clown, please allow me to explain:

    The gubment takes money from the fat cats and bends to their will. If the real people, the sensible percentage of the 99%, disagree with the fat cat bullshit enough, the gubment will work (slowly) to make things correct.

    Making things closer to fair, although not totally fair, would be making that $12 per hour wage happen. I understand that you already have an automobile and home collection. I’m truly sorry that the 1000 foot yacht will have to wait for another week because of equality.

  14. Well, it just passed and now I have to either sell one of my business or lay off employees. I simply cannot afford an increase of 25% in payroll immediately. To all you that voted yes for this, you will find out it was the wrong decision.

  15. No they won’t. They will continue to lie and deceive themselves. Once the economy starts moving somebody might call it trickle down economics and they will all chime in that it doesn’t work. While they benefit from it.

    Try telling them it is socialism that doesn’t work. Why do you think politicians promise free college? High schoolers are not able to do the math necessary to know anything.

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