Iowa Governor Terry Branstad says he doesn’t like the “hodgepodge” of city and county minimum wage hikes that are going into effect in Iowa. After the election’s over, he plans to talk with legislators about the issue.
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The state’s minimum wage is 7-dollars-and-25 cents an hour, identical to the federal minimum wage. Every state that borders Iowa has raised its minimum wage higher than that.
Branstad’s staff issued a “clarification”, saying Branstad was not openly advocating for an INCREASE in the minimum wage. In 1990, Republicans in the legislature voted against a bill Democrats passed that called for raising the state’s minimum wage above the federal level. Branstad surprised his fellow Republicans by signing it into law. The chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party says Republicans have “stonewalled” against a minimum wage increase “for a decade” and voters should question whether Branstad is being “sincere.”