Joe Rogan is an immensely popular podcaster. His podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, has well over 10 million followers on multiple social platforms and channels, including Spotify, YouTube, and Instagram.
He also recently signed a deal with Spotify that is reportedly worth up to $250 million.
Rogan is known for his candid, long-form interviews of guests, where he’s not afraid to ask hard questions and touch upon controversial topics.
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He’s also interviewed a huge variety of different guests from all walks of life, with his guest list being one of the most diverse in the industry. Notably, his past guests also include President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Quentin Tarantino, Mike Tyson, Mark Zuckerberg, Edward Snowden, and many others.
Recently, Rogan talked with former presidential candidate and current Senator Bernie Sanders. Rogan and Sanders discussed a variety of different topics, including economic issues affecting people’s pocketbooks.
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As part of this discussion, Rogan had some very harsh words on one important financial matter – the minimum wage.
Rogan made it very clear he believes the current minimum wage is far too low, and he also had a surprising suggestion.
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Rogan is not a fan of the current minimum wage in the U.S.
Right now, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. It has not increased since 2009. While it is true that some states have a higher minimum wage, the reality is that a good number have stuck to this minimum, and Rogan is not a fan of it.
In fact, when discussing the fact that minimum wage is only $7.25, Rogan was appalled by the low number, commenting, “I think the minimum wage in this country is ridiculous. I mean, $7, what?”
The podcast superstar, whose net worth is estimated somewhere in the $200 million range, also gave the example of a TikTok video he’d seen recently of someone eating a $25 sandwich.
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Rogan commented that a minimum wage worker would have had to work for “three and-a-half hours just to pay for a sandwich. Imagine how insane that is. Like, how do you eat? How do you eat dinner? How do you eat lunch?”
At the same time, Rogan did acknowledge the argument that some people make, which is that minimum-wage jobs are entry-level jobs intended for kids.
However, when Sanders pointed out that there are adults working these jobs, and even trying to raise families on them, Rogan agreed that this is simply unacceptable. “If you have grown adults that are working those jobs, now that becomes disgusting.”
How much does Rogan think the minimum wage should be?
So, if Rogan is not on board with the current minimum wage, the big question is what he actually thinks it should be. And that answer might come as a shock, given just how high his proposed number is.
When Sanders said that the Raise the Wage Act was trying to raise the minimum wage to $17 per hour, Rogan commented that it is a “reasonable amount of money. It's going to be difficult to live off $17 an hour, but at least that's right. At least you can get a sandwich in under two hours of work.”
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If lawmakers were to act on this amount suggested by Rogan and Sanders and raise the minimum wage to $17, approximately 22,247,000 workers would get a big raise, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank. That’s 15% of the wage-earning U.S. workforce.
The Economic Policy Institute’s 2023 research also found that a $17 minimum wage is the minimum amount needed for a single adult without children working full-time to achieve a “modest but adequate standard of living.”
Still, raising the minimum wage to $17 by 2028 would result in employers paying an estimated $86 billion more to workers, and some in the business community are concerned about whether small companies could cover the cost, at least without dramatic price increases.
Ultimately, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed some support for raising the federal minimum wage, but a push to Rogan’s preferred number of $17 would be a pretty major change for lawmakers to support.
