Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made the case for a $15 minimum wage by citing Denmark and how much McDonald’s workers make per hour in the tiny Scandinavian nation:
It is utterly embarrassing that “pay people enough to live” is a stance that’s even up for debate.
Override the parliamentarian and raise the wage. McD’s workers in Denmark are paid $22/hr + 6 wks paid vacation. $15/hr is a deep compromise – a big one, considering the phase in.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 3, 2021
Except, there is no minimum wage in Denmark:
There is no statutory minimum wage in Denmark. https://t.co/a1xqi5TDyO
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) March 3, 2021
And prices are higher for everything in the country because of tariffs and a value-added tax:
Denmark doesn't have a minimum wage and everything costs 50 percent more in Denmark than the United States due to tariffs and a 25% Value Added Tax. Stop being an idiot, AOC. https://t.co/AihG3prDyr
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 3, 2021
Snopes even pointed this out to the Queens socialist in its fact-check of her claim:
While McDonald’s workers in Denmark truly make more than $20 an hour, and receive several weeks of paid vacation, there is some important context to note here. The most notable difference is that the wages paid at Danish McDonald’s were not determined by the country’s minimum wage. In fact, Denmark does not have a nationwide minimum wage. Rather, the country has a robust union presence and issues such as wages and vacation time are often decided via collective bargaining.
It’s also really weird how Denmark is not a model for the U.S. on things like Syrian migrants:
Denmark becomes the first European country to send Syrian migrants back to their home country https://t.co/cWbDZTMVao
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 2, 2021
And we’ll point out that Denmark’s size means that it’s not a good fit for comparison anyway:
The population of Denmark is 5.79 million and they have no minimum wage. The minimum wage artificially damages what people earn. Denmark booted refugees and they pay around 2x what we pay for goods and services. You want to be Denmark? https://t.co/XK6VR7Si0j
— Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) March 3, 2021
Because, we can have McDonald’s workers make $22 an hour in America, but get ready for the robot revolution:
also, I have no clue if what she's saying is true, but if we force fast food places to pay $22/hr + 6 wks paid vacation + obamacare, be prepared for robots to serve you.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) March 3, 2021
***
Join the conversation as a VIP Member