The minimum wage is back in the news here in Virginia, thanks to Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s commitment to signing a $15/hr bill if she is elected governor in November. In the event you find yourself debate-adjacent online or wherever you are — and preferably where others can see it, or else it’s probably a waste of time — today’s column is also about how to save everyone some time and politely expose your rhetorical counterpart for what they really are.

PRO TIP: NO COSPLAY
Don’t start by arguing for $15/hr. Start by asking, “Do you believe in a minimum wage?”

A lot of ‘wingers and self-styled libertarians don’t. But flat-out opposing a minimum wage isn’t terribly socially acceptable, and they want to be socially accepted. So instead of arguing against the minimum wage, these people will adopt the posture of a well-intentioned reasonable person who has, you know, concerns about raising the minimum.

Don’t let them partake in reasonable-position cosplay. Once they’re outed, now it’s not a case of you having to argue for or defend $15/hr. They are the ones who are already against $7.25/hour. They can go on about letting the free market sort it out, blah blah blah. They’re not going to win any hearts or minds with that, and deep down they know it, which is why they preferred to pose as someone more sensible.

THE SHALLOW END
Or maybe they say yes, they do believe in minimum wage but they don’t think it should be raised.

At this point, you could ask them what they think the minimum wage should be. I doubt they’ll have a number, other than it should remain where it is, no matter what it is in your state.

Wouldn’t be prudent. Not at this juncture.

Can they make a case for a different amount? Do they have an alternate benchmark, or criteria for raising the minimum? Maybe peg it to the cost of living index?

No?

Well, here’s the thing. If someone perpetually thinks the the minimum wage should not be raised no matter what it currently is, then they’re against a minimum wage. See above.

This group views the minimum wage as a tax be opposed like all other taxes and does not think further than that. They don’t necessarily even think of themselves as opposing a minimum wage. But if it’s never time to raise the minimum wage, that’s opposition to the concept, which is disqualifying in a good-faith debate about the amount.

THE SAME OLD SONGS
Of course, the federal minimum wage is a measly (as opposed to measley, which is a different matter) $7.25 and has been for over 15 years. A 2024 survey found that 4 out of 5 Republicans oppose raising the federal minimum to even $9.00, even while prices have risen 49% in that period. Anyone who works and has to pay for anything can see that that opposition constitutes opposition to the minimum wage in general.

Anyone remaining in opposition – if there’s anyone left — may tap into the 100 Years of Broken-Record Opposition To The Minimum Wage. Interesting stuff in there. Equip yourselves.

Worker productivity has increased 80.9% since 1979, while hourly pay has risen only 29.4%. In other words, productivity has grown 2.7x as much as pay. The biggest threat to capitalism isn’t communists or socialists. It’s bad capitalists.

A common maneuver to defend the status quo is to misrepresent who relies on the minimum wage, but you’re smarter than that. The least educated and the poorest sectors of working Americans rely most heavily on the minimum wage. It’s not rocket science to understand how a decent minimum wage also keeps many vulnerable working families off forms of direct government support and keeps taxpayers out of the equation.

In 2025, the minimum wage isn’t about an increment here or there. It’s about a functional minimum wage versus a decorative minimum wage.

WHY BOTHER?
A functional minimum wage defends the belief that the American labor and hiring landscape should proceed outward from the ability to make an indisputably modest life out of full-time labor. It defends the integrity of work — and thus the integrity of humans — and guards the line between labor and serfdom.

Before allowing any debate to get into the nitty gritty of anything else, make any politician or keyboard warrior argue against (or agree with) that.

Let’s hand it to Holland/Dozier/Holland via The Four Tops to walk us off with some Motown perfection.