■Rep. Barbara Lee advocates for a $50 minimum wage in California.

■Lee cites a United Way report to justify her stance.

■Republican Steve Garvey opposes changing the minimum wage.

In a debate on Monday, candidates for a California U.S. Senate seat discussed the controversial topic of minimum wage, with Rep. Barbara Lee (D) advocating for a $50 minimum wage.

Lee justified her stance by citing a United Way report that stated a family of four in the Bay Area needs at least $127,000 to get by. She also mentioned another survey that suggested a single person would need $104,000 to survive, which equates to a $50 hourly wage.

“Just do the math. Of course, we have national minimum wages that we need to raise to a living wage,” Lee said. “We’re talking about $20, $25 – fine. But I have got to be focused on what California needs and what the affordability factor is when we calculate this wage.”

.@BarbaraLeeForCA
on $50 minimum wage on tonight’s #CASenateDebate:
pic.twitter.com/4F8iXWnzmc

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KRON4 News (@kron4news) February
13, 2024

However, none of the other Senate candidates agrees with Lee’s proposal.

Republican Steve Garvey expressed his opposition to changing the minimum wage, arguing that it would increase costs for Californians.

“Again, minimum wage is where it is and should be,” Garvey said Monday. “If you look at what California has done to fast food franchises right now, increasing the minimum wage to $20. Then what’s going to happen? That’s going to increase costs for hard-working Californians to go to a franchise.”

In previous debates, other candidates have suggested more moderate minimum wage increases. In January, Democratic Rep. Katie Porter suggested a $20 national minimum wage and $25 for California, while Rep. Adam Schiff proposed a $25 national minimum wage.

Read more at The Hill.