State Senator Sojourner and the Latino President of EmpowerMS agree that Biden’s order is counterproductive, saying the president has “helped enough.”

On Monday, the US Department of Labor announced a final rule that implemented Executive Decree 14026 which will increase the minimum hourly wage for federally contracted employees effective January 30, 2022. President Biden signed the ordinance on April 27, 2021.

Rule applies in all 50 states, District of Columbia, and U.S. territories specified. He prescribes the following:

• Increase the minimum hourly wage for workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts to $ 15 effective January 30, 2022.
• Continue to index the federal contractual minimum wage in the coming years to inflation.
• Eliminate the peak minimum wage for federal contract workers by 2024.
• Guarantee a minimum wage of $ 15 for workers with disabilities performing work on or in connection with covered contracts.
• Restore minimum wage protections for outfitters and guides operating on federal lands.

CNBC reported that the rule is expected to impact some 327,000 workers, including restaurant workers and nursing assistants who currently earn less than $ 15 an hour.

Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh said in a declaration that the executive decree “improves the economic security of these workers and their families, many of whom are women and people of color”.

Jessica Looman, Acting Administrator of the US Wages and Hours Division noted the final rule adds value for taxpayers by increasing worker productivity and reducing employee turnover and absenteeism.

“It also allows federal entrepreneurs to retain top talent and reduce recruitment and training costs,” she says.

However, many Conservatives are skeptical of the introduction of $ 15 an hour for employees of federal contractors.

Russ Latino, president of Empower Mississippi, says the artificial increase in wages for all employees of federal contractors ignores regional differences in labor market pay.

“This will dramatically increase costs for employers and taxpayers and will only worsen our current inflationary quagmire,” Latino told Y’all Politics. “President Biden ignores the first rule when you find yourself in a hole. He must stop digging and let American employers and American workers heal from a long period of reckless government intrusion. He is quite “helped”.

Mississippi State Senator Melanie Sojourner (right), who is a member of the Mississippi Senate Labor Committee, told Y’all Politics that there is a clear link between economic freedom and prosperity. The senator said economies thrive when people have the maximum opportunity to pursue their interests in limited government, regulatory efficiency and market opening. However, Biden’s decree takes the opposite approach.

“First, Biden’s muscular attempts to rule by executive order are problematic. Second, its interference in the economy is counterproductive. Research documents the detrimental effects of minimum wage laws on the labor market, ”said Senator Sojourner. “Such laws cannot generate additional income; they can only redistribute it. In doing so, raising the minimum wage will have a whole host of unintended consequences for Mississippians: loss of entry-level jobs, increased unemployment, and higher prices for consumers and taxpayers. “

Garrett McInnis of Accelerate Mississippi, the organization leading the state’s workforce development initiative, says increasing household incomes for Mississippi families is a guiding principle for their work, but believes that such progress should come from training rather than an executive order of the president.

“Our office is committed to developing and deploying strategies that give more Mississippians paths to well-paying careers through education and training opportunities,” McInnis told Y’all Politics. “We do this by training and educating our employees for good, high impact careers, not government mandates. “