Stephanie Cutter Quotes
This is the debate we have every time we talk about the minimum wage, that if we raise it even 50 cents, that it means employers are just going to shut down. It's not true.
Cutter, Stephanie. Panel Discussion. Crossfire, CNN, 26 Feb. 2014.
This is the classic conservative argument against raising the minimum wage. Historically, if the minimum wage was raised well after there has been a period of wage inflation, there has been little or no negative effect on the lowest paid workers. However, when the minimum wage has been raised during a period of wage stability, there is an effect of making some workers simply not worth the rate that they must be paid. However, even then, after a year or two, the negative effect begins to dissipate.
This is the major argument always given against raising the minimum wage. Historically, however, when the minimum wage has been increased there has never been a large increase in the unemployment rate. However, if the increase would be huge it would likely have the effect of pricing some workers out of the market. Like so many other elements of politics, moderation is important.
Stephanie Cutter is an American political consultant. She served as an advisor to President Barack Obama during his first presidential term, and was deputy campaign manager for his 2012 re-election campaign. She previously worked in campaign and communications roles for other prominent Democrats including Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and Michelle Obama. The New York Times described her as "a popular but polarizing face of (Obama's) campaign", and a "soldier who says the things the candidate can’t (or won’t) say."
