Georgia proudly claims the title of No. 1 state for business for the 12th year running. But if Georgia is such a great place to do business, why are so many of its workers struggling to get by?
On January 1, 2026, 19 states raised their minimum wage rates. California went to $16.90. New York City hit $17. Georgia? Georgia kept its state minimum wage right where it’s been for decades: $5.15 an hour.
Yes, Georgia recognizes the federal minimum wage of $7.25, and many companies pay above that. But on paper, our state law says $5.15 – and that symbolizes exactly what some of our leaders think Georgia’s workers are worth.
Work 40 hours at minimum wage, and you’ll earn $1,160 a month. Average rent costs $1,200. Georgia just topped 5 million jobs, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 44 counties report average wages below $875 a week. We’re creating jobs. We’re just not making sure those jobs pay enough to live on.
Your rent isn’t cheaper because you’re a Republican. Your grocery bill isn’t lower because you’re a Democrat. The numbers are the numbers.
Nobody wants to work for the minimum of anything. While the U.S. Senate debates $17 or $20, Georgia isn’t even having the conversation. We’re not losing ground slowly. We’re being left behind completely.
Raising Georgians’ pay should be a bipartisan effort
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
I grew up watching my mother struggle to keep the lights on. As a father, I’ve sat at the kitchen table trying to make the math work.
Democratic lawmakers introduced more than 20 bills to raise Georgia’s minimum wage over the last decade.
Every single one died in committee. Credit where it’s due – Democrats have been trying.
But trying isn’t enough. Working families can’t deposit trying in the bank. They need results.
This is where leadership matters.
Georgia has always been a leading state.
When Georgia steps up, the nation watches.
It’s time for our legislature to show that same courage. Democrats have introduced the bills.
Now Republicans need to join them. This isn’t about party. It’s about people. Pass meaningful wage legislation together and prove Georgia values its workers as much as its businesses.
I’m calling on every member of the Georgia General Assembly to put politics aside. Meet with workers. Listen. Then do what’s right. Be the example Georgia has always been a state that leads the South.
The current Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes comes from a business background. That’s valuable. But working families need more than efficiency. They need an advocate who will fight for them, not just manage the agency.
Working Georgians need a champion with a track record of fixing broken systems.
The labor commissioner can’t raise the minimum wage alone – that requires the legislature. But the commissioner can be the loudest voice demanding it, the strongest partner for legislators ready to lead, and the toughest advocate for working families.
They can publish data on which employers pay poverty wages and give workers a platform to speak truth to power.
Workers should be able to afford child care and rent
I’ve spent my career fixing broken systems. As a prosecutor, I created programs putting people on a pathway to success, not incarceration. In health care management at Grady Memorial, I helped people navigate systems that weren’t built for them. As chief of staff for District 5 Atlanta City Council, I saw how government could work for people – and what happens when it doesn’t.
If elected to be labor commissioner, I’ll work across the aisle to solve problems. I’ll call out employers who pay poverty wages and celebrate those who do right by their workers.
I’ll bring business leaders, educators, elected officials, and community leaders to the table for genuine dialogue. Representation matters – when leaders have lived the struggles of working families, policy becomes personal.
We need leaders who understand that being the No. 1 state for business should mean that workers can afford child care or rent, people coming home from prison can find jobs, and 40 hours of work guarantees food on the table. Where families can build a promising future here.
Business success and worker success are not opposites. They’re partners. This isn’t radical. It’s a New Deal for Georgia’s working families.
FDR showed American an example of positive action
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, unemployment was at 25%. He didn’t accept that as inevitable. He created the Civilian Conservation Corps, putting young men to work in forests and parks. He established Social Security, ensuring seniors could retire with dignity. He created unemployment insurance, so workers could survive hard times without losing everything. He guaranteed the right to organize, so workers could have a voice at the table. The New Deal wasn’t charity. It was an investment in the people who built this country.
Roosevelt understood something simple: When working people succeed, America succeeds.
Georgia can lead that same transformation today. We can be the No. 1 state for business” and the No. 1 state for workers. When workers thrive, businesses thrive. When families are stable, communities are strong. When people can afford to live here, Georgia grows.
To the Georgia legislature: Democrats have introduced the bills. Republicans, join them at the table. Show working families they matter more than partisan talking points. Be the example Georgia has always been — a state that leads the South.
It’s time for Georgia to meet the moment. It’s time to build an economy where the people doing the business can actually afford to live here.
It’s time for a New Deal.
Christian Wise Smith is a former prosecutor and a Democratic candidate for Georgia labor commissioner in the May 2026 primary.
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