Karl Rove Misses The Mark On Impact Of Raising Minimum Wage

To Rove, 30 Million Workers Isn't “A Lot”

Rove on Inequality

In another attempt to cast the Obama administration's focus on income inequality as an Obamacare distraction, Fox contributor Karl Rove argued that raising the minimum wage “doesn't affect a lot of American workers.” But raising the minimum wage would impact 30 million workers, or nearly 20 percent of the American workforce.

On the January 6 edition of America's Newsroom, Fox News contributor Karl Rove dismissed the Obama administration's efforts to raise the minimum wage as yet another attempt to distract from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and falsely claimed that raising the minimum wage “doesn't affect a lot of American workers” (emphasis added):

HEMMER: You know, I'm trying to figure this out, Karl. Do you see that as a new front to argue politics in America today in order to set up the debate for the midterm elections next November? Or do you see it as a distraction away from the issues of Obamacare? Is it A or B or is it a mix of both then?

ROVE: Well it's a mix of both but I thought it was interesting yesterday on the Sunday talk programs, Todd, from NBC talked about how he had talked to members of the administration, Chuck Todd said he talked to the people in the administration about the agenda for 2014 and the administration talked about everything but Obamacare. This is first and foremost an attempt to pivot away from something that is incredibly damaging to the administration, the so-called Affordable Care Act, and again, as I said, short run, there's a little bit of advantage here in the next couple of weeks or months in talking about raising the minimum wage and which doesn't affect a lot of American workers.

Rove seems unaware that raising the minimum wage would impact 30 million American workers, or nearly 20 percent of the nation's workforce of 155 million. According to the Economic Policy Institute, raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by 2016 “would lift incomes for millions of American workers, most of whom do not fit the prevailing impressions of low-wage workers as teenagers working part-time jobs for extra spending money.”

Number of Workers Affected By Increasing The Federal Minimum wage to $10.10 By July 1, 2015

Minimum Wage

Rove's comments mark the latest attack in Fox's longstanding campaign against raising the minimum wage and promote the network's narrative that any and all action by the Obama administration is an attempt to distract from the ACA.