Wisconsin Eye interviewed Mark Harris, the Democratic candidate for the 18th State Senate District of Wisconsin on September 7. Harris, who currently serves as Winnebago County Executive, spoke about a variety of topics ranging from education funding to gas taxes and differences from his opponent. Our focus is on Harris’ proposal for how to raise the minimum wage. Instead of giving one specific amount that he thinks should be the minimum wage, Harris said that raising the minimum wage too much could be unsustainable for certain businesses and may lead to unemployment. Harris proposed “something more like 50 percent or 60 percent of the prior year’s average wage…it would come out closer to nine dollars, that might be a more realistic first step.” The Observatory checked if 50 or 60 percent of the previous year’s average hourly wage is actually nine dollars. Harris suggested updating the wage periodically and that the wage is indexed so “that people don’t wallow at that wage for years and years before it’s updated again.” 
How will the minimum wage change?
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