T.W. Shannon is looking to take away the power to set the minimum wage from the federal government. Shannon insists that it is the state’s right to choose what the minimum wage is for each state. On paper Shannon’s legislation sounds like a good idea. The Republican politician tries to give the impression that taking the power away from the federal government will allow states to increase the minimum wage, which will help working class citizens. The only issue with this idea is the fact that states already have the ability to raise their own minimum wage.

There is only one reason Shannon would want such a legislation to be passed in the U.S., and that is to lower Oklahoma’s minimum wage. For some reason, and it’s definitely not a practical one, certain politicians have felt that minimum wage should be lowered for certain states. This works for a country where the economy isn’t affected by job loss and debt, but not for a country currently fighting a war against debt while also fighting a literal war in the Middle East.

While Oklahoma is more stable economically than states like California, the state is still plagued by the issues from which the rest of the country suffers. It makes no sense for a Republican who takes a stance on family values to want to put in place a way for any state to lower the minimum wage for people in the state.

The sickening thing about all of this is that these facts aren’t being presented. In fact, all the information given by Shannon doesn’t even give a reason for the change from federal to state power other than he believes it’s a state right. Yes, there is validity in state control over minimum wage, but without regulation and proper information, and if states aren’t up to date with the current national economic status, the wrong decisions could be made regarding lowering minimum wage.