Gov. Tom Wolf’s latest push to increase the minimum wage in Pennsylvania shows just how out-of-touch Wolf can be sometimes.

We don’t necessarily disagree with Wolf that the state’s minimum wage is a difficult one for people trying to earn enough money to live on. But who in their right mind would push for a $4.75 an hour increase to the minimum wage in a year in which small businesses throughout the state will be trying to reestablish themselves from the damage caused by COVID-19 and Wolf’s own COVID-19 executive orders?

In Wolf’s view, increasing the minimum wage by roughly 30% will boost consumer spending as well as decrease job turnover, save tax dollars and help communities. But how many of those workers would find themselves out of work when businesses have to downsize or close entirely because they can’t generate enough business due to the pandemic to pay the wages the state is trying to implement?

The governor is swinging for the fences with his minimum wage proposal. It’s a bad approach that mirrors the similarly poor approach being taken by President Joe Biden.

If Wolf is serious about trying to put more money into people’s pockets, he needs start at a smaller amount.

The governor has to find a way to work with Republicans in the state Legislature to get anything done. To do so, he should incorporate some common sense into his rhetoric.