Dem Congressional Candidate Backs Bill that Study Says Would Crush 5 MILLION Jobs Nationwide

The rising Congressional contender looking to flip Rep. Tom Kean Jr’s seat in the House has a plan.

And it’s a very bad plan.

But all the history, analysis, and economic science that says it’s a bad plan hasn’t been enough to convince her.

We’re talking about Rebecca Bennett, and her bid to chase down New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.

We’re talking about 5.1 MILLION jobs down the drain nationwide, according to some estimates.

Bennett doesn’t just want to take Kean’s red seat and flip it to blue — she wants to come alongside all the other members of Congress who are dead set on hiking the minimum wage as high as $25 per hour.

Her top stated priority as a Congressional candidate is to address the cost of living, as she stated in this clip she shared last week:

I’m running to end the cost-of-living crisis because it’s my life. We need leaders in Washington who actually know what New Jersey families are facing and will fight to make life better for us. pic.twitter.com/Pw0GPmq6Hi

— Rebecca Bennett (@RebeccaForNJ07) September 16, 2026

Click to expand...

The problem is that her number one strategy for addressing the cost of living issues is to simply jump on board the minimum wage bandwagon.

And let me tell you — Rebecca Bennett might just become the Congressional posterchild for the issue, if she does successfully take Kean’s seat.

She is very serious and focused on this issue.

And she might just get the chance to push that issue in the House…

Considering the recent polling and election forecasters now have her gaining a meaningful edge over Kean:

Leans Democrat > Likely Democrat

The DDHQ Forecast now has Rebecca Bennett as likely to win in #NJ07, with a 76% win probability and a projected margin of five points.

Trump carried this seat by one point in the 2024 presidential election. pic.twitter.com/c7nw0uIxRq

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) September 17, 2026

Click to expand...

The House legislation for a national minimum wage hike is already prepared, just waiting on her plausible arrival to take up the torch and storm the gates of financial prudence.

A fellow New Jersey Democrat has already helped shape the Living Wage For All Act in advance of Bennett’s potential arrival, which would give Bennett the $25 per hour hike she’s been dreaming of, according to this from Breitbart:

Democrat candidate Rebecca Bennett, running for the U.S. Congress in New Jersey’s 7th District, backs a bill that a study says would crush 60,000 jobs in her state alone and 5 million nationwide.

The Democrat said she would support a minimum wage of $25 per hour. New Jersey Democrat Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) helped lead the Living Wage For All Act, which would ensure a minimum wage increase to $25 per hour over the next “several” years, moving from $7.25 to $12.00 in the first year. Further, the “subminimum” wages for tipped workers would also end in a phased manner.

In June Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the legislation in the Senate.

Currently well over a dozen states have a state minimum wage greater than the federal requirement, with many going to $15 or more. Bennett stated she would like to see the federal minimum move to $25 per hour.

Mejia and Bennett’s state of New Jersey would face 58,925 job losses. And this would not be the first time Bennett has voted against the best interests of the New Jersey worker; she opposed the Big, Beautiful Bill with its provisions of no tax on tips or overtime and tax relief for seniors – and claimed the “awful” legislation provided “tax breaks for the wealthiest among us,” ignoring the tax cuts extended to the middle class.

Click to expand...

If a big wage hike could exist in a bubble, that would all be fine and dandy.

But that whole ‘supply and demand’ issue, not to mention inflationary forces, certainly are going to demand THEIR say in determining the consequences of such a change — whether unintended, or otherwise.

And Leftists aren’t the only ones clambering to raise the minimum wage forcibly.

Conservatives, even Sen. Josh Hawley, has been chomping at that bit for some time:

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Sen. Josh Hawley plans to introduce legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. https://t.co/OhziNprW0K

— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 10, 2025

Click to expand...

It’s a dangerously tempting bit of legislation…

If one fails to soberly account for REAL WORLD economic realities.

And the realities of the $25 dollar and hour baseline have been examined and researched at length recently by researchers at the Employment Policies Institute, as reported this past weekend by Fox News:

A federal $25 minimum wage mandate would destroy millions of jobs across the country and hit several of the Sun Belt states that have seen a significant influx of new residents in recent years, an economist warned in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Rebekah Paxton, research director at the conservative Employment Policies Institute (EPI), warned that a $25 federal mandate would be a total “job killer.”

The group expects states including Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida to suffer the largest absolute job losses.

“When you’re talking about doubling or tripling the minimum wage, you’re talking about doubling and tripling labor costs for businesses in those areas,” Paxton added. “There may be some businesses that try to absorb that through higher prices, but ultimately what we know from economists, business owners, and workers themselves is that it doesn’t always work.”

“In a lot of ways, it means business owners are going to have to slash jobs and reduce the number of hours that folks are able to work,” she explained. “Our report shows that that’s going to cost almost five million jobs across the country.”

Click to expand...

That’s a lot of lost jobs just to raise the price of a burger by $10 bucks. (I meant that sarcastically when I typed it, but it’s funny because it’s TRUE!)

But let’s take a quick peak back at someone who WAS a true economic genius, and see what HE had to say about the part minimum wage laws play in POVERTY.

Here’s a clip of economist Milton Friedman in 1979 — the year I was born! — fielding an antagonistic question that ends up right at the heart of this issue:

MILTON FRIEDMAN (1979): White liberal woman asks why there are so many "Millionaires who hoard money".

Milton points out that poverty is the result of 2 Govt policies:

1. Govt Education
2. Minimum Wage Laws

Bernie Sanders entered politics in 1971 as a volunteer for the… pic.twitter.com/Omfdldlotl

— Publius (@OcrazioCornPop) September 20, 2026

Click to expand...

Here’s a full screen version of that clip for easier viewing:

MILTON FRIEDMAN (1979): White liberal woman asks why there are so many “Millionaires who hoard money”.

Milton points out that poverty is the result of 2 Govt policies:

1. Govt Education
2. Minimum Wage Laws

Bernie Sanders entered politics in 1971 as a volunteer for the… pic.twitter.com/Omfdldlotl

— Publius (@OcrazioCornPop) September 20, 2026

Click to expand...

And I want to reiterate and amplify the key takeaway from Friedman’s answer to the general poverty issue from that clip.

The problem wasn’t merely poor education and a minimum wage that was set too low when it comes to the pillars of poverty.

The key problems when it comes to poverty in a nation is specifically GOVERNMENT education (that’s a whole other story entirely…) and minimum wage laws in and of themselves — according to Friedman.

And if you didn’t watch that full clip, go back and check it out. He does a masterful job at explaining the intricacies of those issues in relation to poverty.

But what about the specific numbers we’re facing in America in 2026 and the following years, if those like Congressional hopeful Rebecca Bennett have their way?

Here’s the economic forecast if that happens, according to stats published by EPI:

EPI finds Sen. Murphy’s plan for a $25 minimum wage with no tip credit would cost 5.01 million jobs across the country.

Of those job losses:

• Fifty-two percent of losses (-2.65 million jobs) would be for workers under the age of 25, with -1.85 million jobs lost for teens alone;
• More than one-third (-1.74 million jobs) would be in the restaurant industry, which employs one of the largest shares of minimum wage workers;
• Over 500,000 jobs would be lost across supermarkets (-204,495 jobs), elementary and high schools (-159,189 jobs), and construction (-146,056 jobs);
• Nearly a quarter would be those held by tipped workers (-1.22 million jobs) due to the elimination of the tip credit;
• Roughly sixty percent (-3 million) would be those held by women.

Click to expand...

I know, I know… it’s TOO HARD to make a good living in America right now if you’re anywhere near the minimum wage!

That’s not a Democrat talking point — that’s REALITY.

Someone has reportedly done the math, coming out with these numbers; which sound highly accurate, if you ask me:

HOURS REQUIRED TO ESCAPE POVERTY ON MINIMUM WAGE:

1. JAPAN – 11 Hours
2. UNITED KINGDOM – 23 Hours
3. FRANCE – 26 Hours
4. NEW ZEALAND – 29 Hours
5. PORTUGAL – 31 Hours
6. AUSTRALIA – 32 Hours
7. BELGIUM – 32 Hours
8. SPAIN – 32 Hours
9. IRELAND – 33 Hours
10. GERMANY – 37…

— Uzi (@UziCryptoo) September 17, 2026

Click to expand...

Here’s the full text of that post, detailing one estimation of how many hours you need to work in different countries at the US minimum wage in order to escape the poverty line:

HOURS REQUIRED TO ESCAPE POVERTY ON MINIMUM WAGE:

1. JAPAN – 11 Hours
2. UNITED KINGDOM – 23 Hours
3. FRANCE – 26 Hours
4. NEW ZEALAND – 29 Hours
5. PORTUGAL – 31 Hours
6. AUSTRALIA – 32 Hours
7. BELGIUM – 32 Hours
8. SPAIN – 32 Hours
9. IRELAND – 33 Hours
10. GERMANY – 37 Hours
11. LUXEMBOURG – 44 Hours
12. CANADA – 44 Hours
13. UNITED STATES- 90 Hours

YES, 90 HOURS. ONE PERSON ON FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE ($7.25/HR) WOULD NEED TO WORK 90 HOURS A WEEK TO ESCAPE POVERTY.

Click to expand...

In the interest of fairness, there are several variables that make the comparison between these nations incredibly skewed.

Nevertheless, that 90 hour per week estimation necessary to escape poverty in the US if you’re actually making the hourly minimum wage… is probably in the ballpark of extremely accurate.

Here’s the problem.

The true inflation AND DOLLAR DEVALUATION we’re dealing with — not just from the Biden years, but for decades — makes the difference in the hourly wage into barely more than a DROP IN THE BUCKET.

I know; I’m preaching to the conservative choir here, for the most part.

But the real problem isn’t the number of dollars you are receiving hourly…

It’s the fact that each one of those dollars has been incredibly devalued consistently for many, many years!

And then, Rebecca Bennett and her Democrats (and many ‘conservative’ Republicans!?!?) want to hike the required hourly rate and force a double or tripling of wages for millions of Americans within a relatively small space of time!?

That corresponding inflationary and dollar devaluation nightmare I was just describing would become irreparably worse — overnight — if that happens.

Not over decades, but overnight.

Sorry, Mrs. Bennett. But your masterplan for drawing wealth from thin air simply by demanding it appear on the basis of Congressional authority isn’t a viable solution.

Worse — it may very be the final nail in the economic doomsday coffin, if you get your way.

Continue reading...

[ H/T WLT Report ]