One of the greatest partisan debates — raising the minimum wage — may not be so partisan after all. 
According to the 2016 Louisiana Survey, which identifies how Louisiana residents feel about social, political and economic issues, 76 percent of residents support setting the state’s minimum wage at $8.50 an hour. 
Louisiana is one of five states that does not have a state-set minimum wage but instead adheres to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
The Louisiana Survey is conducted by the University’s Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs in the Manship School of Mass Communication. 
Results from the survey show that 88 percent of Democrats, 83 percent of Independents and 59 percent of Republicans would support a minimum wage increase.
Michael Henderson, Public Policy Research Lab director, said while the numbers may seem surprising, minimum wage debates hardly ever spark the sharp divide the media portrays.
“Minimum wage increases are actually surprisingly popular across most of the country,” Henderson said. “It’s not an issue that tends to divide conservatives and liberals as big as you might think.”
California and New York recently passed legislation to raise their minimum wages to $15. Closer to home, a bill sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Karen Carter Peterson that would raise the minimum wage to $8 an hour in 2017 and $8.50 in 2018 will be heard by the Legislature for consideration.
However, Henderson believes the bill will most likely not pass through the Senate.
“Legislators don’t just pay attention to public opinion when they make decisions,” he said. “There’s a lot of input that goes into how a legislator votes, and public opinion is not the single-driving force in how those votes translate.”
The Louisiana Report found that 70 percent of residents ages 18-29 are in favor of a minimum wage increase. Some University students support the idea and explained that a minimum wage of $7.25 is not enough to keep up with the state’s rising inflation and taxes.
“The people who work [for] minimum wage are already disadvantaged … The people it affects the most are adults who are trying to support their family,” said chemistry and international studies freshman Rachel Handley. 
Some students, however, believe wage increases could actually lead to higher unemployment rates. Accounting freshman Lauren Agrigento, who is opposed to a minimum wage increase, said raising wages would not necessarily mean workers would be getting a livable wage.
“Because the price of labor has gone up, the price of everything else will go up too,” she said. “To raise it even more is going to put more people out of jobs … and quickly create inflation.”
The report also gauged the public’s opinion on government assistance programs like Medicare, which were significantly more partisan issues. Henderson explained the difference between these questions and minimum wage is the introduction of real-life trade-offs.
“You’re thinking about helping the poor, but you’re also thinking about the taxes you might have to pay,” he said. “Because you’re thinking about two different policies, that’s going to make responses very different.”