# @benzinga on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DF3XJhKvlii
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/26575254-benzinga-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/6541a0b80d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-02-09T20:12:11.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Benzinga | News That Moves (@benzinga) — https://gondola.cc/benzinga

## Caption

It's 2025, and the federal minimum wage in the U.S. is still stuck at $7.25 an hour—exactly where it's been since 2009. While some states have raised it on their own, millions of Americans are still struggling to make ends meet despite working full-time jobs.

Buffett has been asked for years whether the solution is to raise the minimum wage. His answer? It's complicated.

"It's the hardest question I've been asked because I don't know the answer," he admitted in 2016.

He supports higher wages but worries about unintended consequences.

"If you tell me I've got to run a business that pays $15 an hour in many industries, I'm going to employ fewer people than before," Buffett explained. "I don't want to employ fewer people; I just want that person to make $15 an hour."

It's a classic economic debate: higher wages mean better pay for workers, but could also lead to fewer jobs if businesses cut costs by hiring less.

Instead of pushing for a higher minimum wage, Buffett champions the earned income tax credit –government program that supplements low wages with tax credits.

"You don't need a minimum wage. You need a minimum income," he said.

His idea is simple: keep wages as they are but use the tax system to boost take-home pay. The earned income tax credit could ensure that even those in low-wage jobs effectively earn $15 an hour without forcing businesses to cut jobs.

"The earned income tax credit can give everyone $15 an hour even if their market skills don't command it," Buffett explained. "You don't lose any employment, and you make it graduated so there's still an incentive to move up."

The way Buffett sees it, the government has enough money to make this work:

"If we've got an $18 trillion GDP, we can allocate enough so that anybody who works productively at 40 hours a week can have a decent life," he said. 

Nine years after Buffett's interview, the debate over wages and income inequality rages on. The federal minimum wage remains frozen, and while some states have taken action, there's no universal fix. 

So the question remains: will 2025 be the year politicians finally listen? Or will we be having this same conversation in another decade?

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## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Benzinga | News That Moves | @benzinga | https://gondola.cc/benzinga | Brand |
| Jacob Shipley | @okcmayor | https://gondola.cc/okcmayor | Director of Social Media |

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