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 Three Missouri Republicans running to take on Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in November were asked during a radio debate on KMOX what the federal minimum wage is and whether they would vote to increase it. None of the three knew what the minimum wage it, but all knew that they would vote against increasing it, regardless. 
 
 Host Charlie Brennan asked the three candidates — businessman John Brunner, former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, and Rep. Todd Akin — “What is the federal minimum wage? Would you vote to increase it?” Here are their responses to the first question: 
 
 BRENNAN: Okay, do you know what the minimum wage is? BRUNNER: No sir. BRENNAN: How about you Sarah Steelman? STEELMAN: Uh…$7.50 an hour. BRENNAN: Do you know what the minimum wage is? AKIN: My guess is its somewhere in the 6 or 7, but I don’t know the exact number right now. 
 
 Watch it: 
 
 The federal minimum wage (and Missouri’s minimum wage) is $7.25 per hour. Certainly all three should know the wage level at which four million American workers are at or below. Akin, especially, should know, since in 2007 he voted against raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25. 
 
 The candidates’ explanations for not wanting to raise the minimum wage ranged from nonsensical (Brunner said his business gave “better than the minimum benefits”) to extreme, with Akin calling for scrapping the minimum wage altogether. “I don’t think the government should be setting prices on wages in any way shape or form,” said Akin. 
 
 Steelman was opposed to raising the minimum wage because she “think[s] it’s high enough as it is.” A person working a minimum-wage job for 40-hour work weeks with no vacation would earn just $15,080 over the course of the year, before taxes. 
 
 Perhaps explaining their ignorance of the current minimum wage is the fact that none of the three candidates personally live anywhere near it. Akin owns two homes and receives an annual congressional salary of $174,000. Steelman has donated upwards of $400,000 to her own Senate campaign. Brunner tops them all, sporting a net worth of approximately $100 million. 

 ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) — It may seem like an easy enough question: what is the federal minimum wage? But all three Republicans running in Missouri’s U.S. Senate primary didn’t know when asked during a debate Friday on KMOX. 
 
 The federal minimum wage is $7.25. While some states have higher minimum wages, Missouri’s is the same as the federal level. 
 
 Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), businessman John Brunner and former Missouri State treasurer Sarah Steelman are competing to run against Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in November. 
 
 
 
 Listen to part of the debate below: 
 
 The GOP candidates took part in the radio debate on the Charlie Brennan show this morning. His question to each candidate was if they knew how much the federal minimum wage was and if they would support increasing it. 
 
 They all missed the mark, either saying they didn’t know or guessing wrong. 
 
 John Brunner was asked the question first. 
 
 He addressed the issue of minimum wage and its effect on small businesses. Brunner also said when he ran a business he paid his employees “always above the minimum wage” because he was looking for the best people. 
 
 Sarah Steelman guessed the minimum wage was $7.50 an hour, which is 25 cents higher than the actual minimum wage. But replied “I’m not in favor of increasing it at this time.” 
 
 When asked for an explanation Steelman said “I think it’s high enough as it is.” Adding “young people sometimes can’t find jobs because they’re taken by other people and they don’t pay a lower wage, or are unable to pay a lower wage because of the minimum wage. So that squeezes jobs out.” 
 
 Rep. Todd Akin followed Steelman’s remarks by saying “my belief on this is its just another example of a wrong thing that the government does.” 
 
 “I don’t think the government should be setting the prices or wages on different things,” Akin said. “I don’t think that’s the function of the government.” 
 
 “If you got a kid that’s never held a job before and wants to just simply sweeping the floor and learn how to be a employee. Maybe they’re worth $6 an hour but the government says you have to pay them seven something — you don’t hire them. And that’s a big mistake.” 
 
 Akin also did not know the minimum wage, guessing “its somewhere in the 6 or 7, but I don’t know the exact number right now.” 

 Missouri's Republican Senate candidates may not know what the minimum wage is, but they're in agreement on one thing: It shouldn't be raised. No, whatever the minimum wage is, it's plenty as far as Rep. Todd Akin, businessman John Brunner, and former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman are concerned. 
 
 The minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which means $15,080 for a year of full-time work, just under the poverty threshold for a family of two. Of course, these candidates for United States Senate don't know that. Asked during a radio debate what the minimum wage is and if they'd support increasing it, all three showed just how little they know. 
 
 Steelman, the only candidate to offer a specific guess for the minimum wage—getting it wrong at $7.50—offered a slightly garbled version of a classic argument against raising the minimum, that "young people sometimes can't find jobs because they're taken by other people and they don't pay a lower wage ... are unable to pay a lower wage because of the minimum wage so that squeezes jobs out." Akin, too, claimed that raising the minimum wage would cost teenagers the chance to get experience at the low pay they are, according to him, worth. 
 
 The line that teenagers won't be able to get jobs is a multipurpose argument that raising the minimum wage will lead to fewer jobs and that teenagers working part-time jobs are the only people making minimum wage anyway. But in fact, this is wrong on both counts: "a majority of minimum wage earners are adults working many hours and living in low-income households," and studies show "that an increase in the minimum wage has a small—and even positive—impact on employment." 
 
 That set of myths wasn't Akin's only objection to raising the minimum wage, though. He actually opposes its existence altogether, saying it's "Just another example of a wrong thing that the government does. I don't think the government should be setting the prices or wages on different things, I don't think that's the function of the government." 
 
 As for the extremely wealthy Brunner, he didn't know what the minimum wage is and, clearly taken aback at being asked about something as esoteric as how much businesses must legally pay their workers, and gave a nonsensical, buzzword-laden answer about how his business had always paid more than the minimum wage. Which is ... not at all helpful for everyone who doesn't work for him. 
 
 Missouri Republicans sure face a fantastic set of choices.
– None of the three Republicans running in Missouri's Senate primary know the state's minimum wage, but they definitely don't want it raised, CBS St. Louis reports. Appearing on KMOX radio, former state treasurer Sarah Steelman, Rep. Todd Akin, and businessman John Brunner appeared stumped when asked about the minimum wage. Steelman guessed it was $7.50. Akin said his "guess is it's somewhere in the six or seven, but I don’t know the exact number right now." Brunner simply passed. The state's actual minimum wage is $7.25, and none of the candidates liked it. Steelman said it can prevent young people from finding work because employers aren't allowed to "pay a lower wage." (Daily Kos takes a shot at that argument.) Brunner said when he ran a business he always paid workers "above the minimum wage" because he wanted the best people. Akin dismissed the minimum wage altogether, calling it "just another example of a wrong thing that the government does.” (In another shot from the left, ThinkProgress explains their ignorance by noting they're all too wealthy "to be anywhere near" the minimum wage.)