Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Calif.) hilariously attempted to relate her tribulations earning 50 cents per hour as a teenager to this week's minimum wage bill Tuesday on the Senate floor.
Boxer spoke for 20 minutes in support of the measure. At one point, she mused what life would be like if Congress had left the minimum at the rate she earned as a teenager. "Suppose the other side had taken that attitude, don't raise it," she said. "Well, it would still be, I guess, a buck an hour, 50 cents if you were kids. Today, 50 Cent is a singing group. Am I right about that?"
50 Cent is of course the solo hip hop artist best known for his album "Get Rich or Die Tryin" and single "In Da Club."
Aside from Boxer's humorous exposition of pop culture knowledge, her suggestion that raising the minimum wage would benefit contemporary teenagers is rather ironic.
Research indicates states with higher minimum wages correlate with higher levels of teen unemployment. And as Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) pointed out today on the Senate floor, African American and Hispanic teenagers actually stand to to be hurt more than their peers by a minimum wage increase.
[H/T Washington Post]