This written interview originally appeared on the Young America's Foundation on March 8, 2021.
YAF: Growing up, did you ever expect to become an attorney or CEO?
Andy Puzder: No. When I was ten years old and arguing with my mom, she did say that I’d make a good attorney. My question was, “What’s an attorney?” My dad was a WWII veteran, car salesman in Cleveland, Ohio. My mom was a stay at home mom. I started out working at Baskin-Robbins for minimum wage, which back then was a dollar an hour.
YAF: Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about a $15 federal minimum wage. What are your thoughts on a $15 minimum wage or other similar proposals?
Andy Puzder: Well, younger people should be very concerned about a $15 minimum wage. There was a study was published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis recently that said that a disproportionate amount of the job damage would hit less educated and experienced workers.
The Congressional Budget Office just came out with a study a couple of weeks ago of the very bill that’s before Congress now, and they said that they estimated that the bill would kill 1.4 million jobs, primarily among younger, less educated workers. So this would have a very negative effect on young people’s job opportunities and wages going forward.
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