This Pennsylvania Repersentive Is Going Viral After Arguing That “Not Every Wage Is Designed to Be a Livable Wage”
Pennsylvania House Republican Leader Jesse Topper is facing national backlash after defending the state’s rock-bottom minimum wage with a stunning 10-word explanation: “Not every wage is designed to be a livable wage.”
Topper made the comment while arguing against raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage from $7.25 an hour — a rate that hasn’t budged since 2009 and is now one of the lowest in the country. With families being crushed by rising prices and workers unable to afford housing, food, or childcare, Topper’s argument wasn’t just out of touch. It laid bare the GOP’s position: some Pennsylvanians simply don’t deserve to earn enough to live.
Republicans have long blocked efforts to raise the minimum wage, even as surrounding states increased theirs years ago. But Topper’s remarks went viral because they made the party’s logic clear. Instead of acknowledging that people working full-time jobs should be able to survive, he suggested that low-wage jobs aren’t “designed” to support a person — implying that workers in those positions are disposable.
Critics pointed out what Topper ignored: the majority of minimum-wage workers aren’t teenagers earning pocket money. They’re adults supporting families, often in essential jobs that kept Pennsylvania running during the pandemic. Many commenters noted that grocery clerks, home health aides, and fast-food workers do more in a week than many politicians do in a year — and yet the people doing that labor are the ones Republicans insist should somehow live on $7.25.
Others highlighted the hypocrisy of a Republican lawmaker on a taxpayer-funded salary telling struggling Pennsylvanians that their wages “aren’t meant to be livable.” As one person put it: the fact that the phrase “livable wage” even needs to exist shows how broken the system is — and how committed the GOP is to keeping it that way.
Topper’s comments didn’t just spark outrage. They clarified exactly what Republicans in Harrisburg believe about the people they represent: if you’re not wealthy or politically powerful, your work — and your life — is worth less.
