Missouri's minimum wage decrease is good, Andy Puzder says

As unions and workers across the country fight for an increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour, Missouri is rolling back its minimum wage from $10 to $7.70.

The move, says former CKE Restaurant CEO and former Secretary of Labor nominee Andy Puzder, is a good one.

“[Missouri is] moving in the right direction and I think you will see more of this, particularly in states that don’t have this super strong tech economies that they can live off of,” Puzder tells FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo.

Puzder, who withdrew in February as the Secretary of Labor nominee, says the problem with the minimum wage fight is that it only helps one group of people—the unions.

“They won’t give up on this. It’s a big plus for the unions and they are the ones who are actually benefiting from this. It’s not the young person in high school or college looking for a job that benefits from this because they are not going to find these jobs."

"It’s a negotiating base for the unions. It’s this progressive idea that the more the government tries to make it look like there is economic growth—the more there will be economic growth, but that’s just not the case,” he adds.

Pudzer, who ran fast food chains like Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. from 2000 to 2017, says research has proven that if you raise the minimum wage, the outcome will result in more restaurant closures and reduced hours for employees.

“What we need is competition and what we need is genuine economic growth because the Obama administration proved you can’t increase wages, if you don’t have economic growth. It doesn’t matter how many minimum wage bills you pass, you need that growth and we now have a president that realizes that,” he says.