Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Monday expressed shock over the price of a croissant at a New York City airport and used it to make a point about raising the minimum wage.

“Croissants at LaGuardia are going for SEVEN DOLLARS A PIECE,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, adding a “Scream” emoji. “Yet some people think getting a whole hour of personal, dedicated human labor for $15 is too expensive?”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ted Cruz (Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, seized upon Ocasio-Cortez’s croissant tweet, but he seemed to miss her point.

“Oh the humanity!” Cruz tweeted. “Here’s the answer: government-mandated FREE CROISSANTS FOR ALL. And we’ll just force the bakers to give all of their time for free. #SocialistLogic #AprilFools.”

Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive lawmakers have called for an increase of the nationally mandated minimum wage, which since 2009 has been $7.25 per hour. In recent years, numerous states have raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. (Photos: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images, Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, as of March, the minimum wage in 29 states was higher than the federal minimum wage.

In New York, the minimum wage is $11.10 per hour. In Texas, it is $7.25.

Ocasio-Cortez responded to Cruz in a follow-up tweet.

“GOP taking every tweet so earnestly, making my point for me,” she wrote. “It’s not an argument against the price of a croissant — it’s about the value of human worth. But I guess that idea is foreign to them since their policies treat people as disposable anyway.”

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