Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton fired another warning shot across the bow to the fast food industry this week: yes, I am coming for your fat profits.
"We also have to make the economy fairer. That starts with raising the national minimum wage," trumpeted Clinton to a packed house at Hofstra University on Monday during the first presidential debate. Clinton hasn't exactly hidden her displeasure with the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour while on the campaign trail. On her website, Clinton stresses that someone earning the minimum wage spread out over 40 hours -- which amounts to about $14,000 a year -- simply is unable to make ends meet given the higher cost of living. The former First Lady and Secretary of State proposes raising the federal minimum wage to $12 an hour, and supports efforts by cities and states to raise their own minimum wages even higher.
That much is for sure.
At an event in April, Clinton said she would sign a $15 minimum wage bill if a Democratic Congress were to place it on her desk as president.
"Well, of course I would," Clinton responded to a question on the wage topic. She added that she has "supported the Fight for $15" -- the union-backed campaign that has held rowdy protests dating back to 2012 demanding higher worker wages outside of fast food restaurants.
Should Clinton get elected and push through a $12 an hour minimum wage, and encourage states to hike wages to $15 an hour, it could have far-reaching effects on the fast-food industry.
