Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley want a $15 minimum wage. Hillary Clinton suggests $12.


At the Democratic debate in Iowa on Saturday night, Bernie Sanders defended his proposal to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15, saying we need to "put money in the hands of working people."
Martin O'Malley jumped in to highlight his governorship in Maryland, where he raised the minimum wage to $10.10, and also said he supported a $15 federal minimum wage. Hillary Clinton, not so much.
"If you go to $12 it would be the highest historical average we've ever had," Clinton said, expressing skepticism about going higher.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
O'Malley countered: "It should always be going up. [...] We need to stop taking advice from economists on Wall Street."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Stephanie is an editorial assistant at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Modern Luxury Media.
-
Israel: Losing the American public
Feature A recent poll finds American support for Israel's military action in Gaza has fallen from 50% to 32%
-
Unmaking Americans
Feature Trump is threatening to revoke the citizenship of foreign-born Americans. Could he do that?
-
EPA: A bonfire of climate change regulations
Feature The Environmental Protection Agency wants to roll back its 'endangerment finding,' a ruling that lets the agency regulate carbon emissions
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively