One consequence of the rural/urban partisan divide is that almost all of the Democratic Party infrastructure comes from large cities and doesn't have a natural understanding of rural conditions. The question of a universal vs regionally adjusted minimum wage exemplifies this. 1/

Significant majority of Dem House members represent cities. Most Dem senators (except New Englanders) live in cities. Leadership needs to be in safe seats so comes from cities. Former members of fed govt usually live in cities. And the think tanks/media are located in cities. 2/

Dem leadership & House members from high cost, urban areas largely support universal $15 wage. There’s less difference between market wages today (or city minimum wages) and $15. Democratic Representatives of less urban areas are more concerned about 2nd order effects of $15. 3/

Dems introduced 2 min wage bills in '19: one w/ 205 sponsors + leadership for universal $15 & one w/ 13 sponsors from regions with lower cost of living that had regionally adjusted wage. Latter bill would raise min wage to $11.50-15.10 over 5 years depending on cost of living. 4/

The lead on the bill was Terri Sewell, an African American from western Alabama. The cosponsors came from places like Rio Grande Valley, GA, MN, OK, PA, and less populated parts of CA, OR, and NY. A few of the comments from cosponsors follows: https://sewell.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/sewell-leads-democrats-introducing-regional-minimum-wage-legislation

“We need to raise the federal min wage in every part of the country, but we must do so in a way that makes sense for big cities, small rural towns, and every place in-between. Our country is made up of many different economies, with various costs of living.” - @lucymcbath (GA) 6/

“It is a mistake to assume one set dollar amount will work for New York City and McAllen, Texas. Congress must take action to fix this issue, so that the wage scales as needed in each area of the county.” @RepGonzalez (TX) 7/

"A $7.25 min wage is indefensible in this day & age…But we need to make sure that small business men and women can afford to hire new members of our workforce. One size does not fit all. The cost of living is different in rural areas towns and large cities.” @RepSchrader (OR) 8/

Democratic pundits express near universal approval for universal $15 minimum wage. The real questions are whether that’s good policy for less expensive, less urban areas and who gets a voice to answer that within the Democratic Party. 9/9