{"id":421768,"date":"2021-04-14T14:58:15","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T18:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=421768"},"modified":"2021-04-14T14:58:17","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T18:58:17","slug":"a-democratic-lawmaker-sold-her-small-business-now-she-favors-a-15-minimum-wage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-democratic-lawmaker-sold-her-small-business-now-she-favors-a-15-minimum-wage\/","title":{"rendered":"A Democratic Lawmaker Sold Her Small Business. Now She Favors a $15 Minimum Wage."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fa-democratic-lawmaker-sold-her-small-business-now-she-favors-a-15-minimum-wage%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=421768&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div readability=\"30.295081967213\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"article-category\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"article-excerpt\">Elaine Luria said workers at her former business were paid less than $15<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-thumbnail-container relative lg:mr-24 w-full my-4 mb-8\">\n\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"736\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-1904.jpeg\" class=\"w-full lazyload blur-up wp-post-image\" alt=\"Rep. Elaine Luria\" srcset=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Luria.jpg 736w, https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Luria-300x208.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" \/><figcaption class=\"absolute text-white p-4 w-full text-right text-xs bottom-0 bg-black opacity-75\">\n\t\t\t\tRep. Elaine Luria (D., Va.) \/ Getty Images\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"text-gray text-xs md:text-lg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/author\/matthew-foldi\/\" title=\"Posts by Matthew Foldi\" rel=\"author\" class=\"text-red-700\">Matthew Foldi<\/a> \u2022 April 14, 2021 2:55 pm<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<div readability=\"141.97932053176\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When Rep. Elaine Luria (D., Va.) ran for office in 2018, she presented herself as a small business owner who understood the economic risk of a uniform minimum wage hike:&nbsp;It would &#8220;cause risk to my business and other businesses,&#8221; she said then.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In her first year in office, however, Luria sold her small business\u2014and abandoned her opposition to a one-size-fits-all $15 minimum wage.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Luria sold the Mermaid Factory, a design-your-own-craft shop, on July 1, 2019, according to her <a href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2019\/10037941.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mailtrack.io\/trace\/link\/98a08c7522230d4cf5ad677c92d3ad5e2d3d9270?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fdisclosures-clerk.house.gov%252Fpublic_disc%252Ffinancial-pdfs%252F2019%252F10037941.pdf%26userId%3D6348687%26signature%3D2d82b5e1666f7fb5&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618508692814000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEc8Sq0iqgpU_iGaNnhnSE0U7a4gQ\">financial disclosures<\/a>. Just 17 days later, Luria <a href=\"https:\/\/clerk.house.gov\/Votes\/2019496\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mailtrack.io\/trace\/link\/de0c484e3359240e470c108260653be8a50b8bd6?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fclerk.house.gov%252FVotes%252F2019496%26userId%3D6348687%26signature%3D357e70b3fdf8a292&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618508692814000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH-CfW4gWacQYMdFwhb1fydghZmKg\">voted for<\/a> legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour across the country, a move she just a year earlier said would &#8220;cause risk&#8221; to businesses.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The vote was a stark reversal from Luria&#8217;s position as a candidate, when she leaned on her experience as a small business owner to argue that, while the minimum wage of $7.25 was unacceptable, any increase would have to be gradual and take into consideration that &#8220;different areas of the country have different costs of living.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;I think that as a business owner as well, an immediate jump in the minimum wage could cause risk to my business and to other businesses, so I think that a gradual raise in the minimum wage, indexed to inflation, is essential,&#8221; Luria said during a 2018 candidate forum. &#8220;We need to look at that based off of different areas of the country have different costs of living.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Luria&#8217;s reversal came as increasing the minimum wage emerged as a Democratic priority in the House. Self-styled moderates have been <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/democrats\/swing-district-dems-abandon-minimum-wage-moderation-embrace-hike-to-15\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mailtrack.io\/trace\/link\/c80cb7edc5e13802d42a3e20b7edf214bbfe1b0c?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ffreebeacon.com%252Fdemocrats%252Fswing-district-dems-abandon-minimum-wage-moderation-embrace-hike-to-15%252F%26userId%3D6348687%26signature%3D5d540ed1c1eb5d2f&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618508692814000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEp4bwq-0S0x-ApLsNoeX6meirZ2w\">pushed to jettison<\/a>&nbsp;objections to the federal wage hike\u2014the very positions that helped them get elected in previously Republican-held districts\u2014to stay in line with party leadership.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">For Luria, it&#8217;s both a reversal of policy and her own business practices. According to her own admission, Luria paid workers less than $15 an hour. During the same candidate forum, Luria bragged about paying her staff nearly twice the current minimum wage of $7.25, which, according to a <em>Washington<\/em>&nbsp;<em>Free Beacon<\/em> analysis, is less than $15.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;The $7.25 minimum wage that we have today is criminal,&#8221; Luria said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve never paid any of my employees that amount. Most of them make almost twice that, if not more.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Luria in 2018 Says She Paid Less Than $15 An Hour, Immediate Hike Would Cause Risk to Her Business\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lCxt7EwdVUA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Neither Luria nor the Mermaid Factory responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In 2019, Luria became a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/house-bill\/582\/cosponsors?searchResultViewType=expanded\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/mailtrack.io\/trace\/link\/704670f17ac30cff6bc42ffd7e154e0044f48bbc?url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.congress.gov%252Fbill%252F116th-congress%252Fhouse-bill%252F582%252Fcosponsors%253FsearchResultViewType%253Dexpanded%26userId%3D6348687%26signature%3Dee019369cd406325&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1618508692814000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGqNlfIH23LFyE6LyH83SaHM2_kbQ\">cosponsor<\/a> of the Democrats&#8217; Raise the Wage Act, which explicitly ignores the localized conditions that Luria pledged to consider. Earlier this year, she once again voted in support of the federal $15 minimum wage, which was included in the COVID relief bill passed by the House.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Luria often pivoted back to her experience as a small business owner during her first campaign, pledging to be a voice for business interests in her district. &#8220;Washington just isn&#8217;t listening to Coastal Virginia&#8217;s small business owners,&#8221; she said in October 2018. &#8220;If you send me to Congress, I&#8217;ll change that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Local business owners say Luria is breaking that promise. Glenn Davis, the owner of OnCall Telecom International in Virginia Beach, said Luria &#8220;turned her back&#8221; on Virginia&#8217;s business community.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;Elaine Luria said that she understood the challenges of small businesses and understood the need for a balanced approach,&#8221; said Davis, who is also a Republican state delegate, &#8220;but once being elected, very quickly turned her back on those small businesses.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Republicans have made clear they will dedicate resources to unseat Luria, who narrowly won reelection in 2020 against Scott Taylor, whom she also beat in 2018.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Republican state senator Jen Kiggans, a former Navy pilot who launched her campaign against Luria this week, indicated that she will target Lauria&#8217;s reversal during her campaign.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;She knew how damaging a federal wage hike would be to Virginia business owners, but instead of protecting them from this job-killing legislation, she protected herself,&#8221; Kiggans said. &#8220;We need a representative in Congress who understands the consequences of their votes and the lasting impact they will have on small businesses, our economy, and our future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elaine Luria said workers at her former business were paid less than $15  Rep. Elaine Luria (D., Va.) \/ Getty Images  Matthew Foldi &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2312184,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-1904.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"A Democratic Lawmaker Sold Her Small Business. Now She Favors a $15 Minimum Wage.","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-421768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/fb_image-1904.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"A Democratic Lawmaker Sold Her Small Business. Now She Favors a $15 Minimum Wage.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421768"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421768\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2312184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}