Democrats vow to block pay raises until minimum wage increased

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/27/congress.wage.reut/index.html

Democrats ratcheted up their election-year push for an increase in the federal minimum wage Tuesday by promising to block a congressional pay hike unless some of the lowest-paid hourly workers get their first raise in nearly a decade.

"Congress is going to have earn its raise by putting American workers first: A raise for workers before a raise for Congress," said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

Reid refused to spell out exactly how he will block a $3,300 pay raise scheduled for January 1 for members of Congress, who currently earn $165,200 annually. He said with 40 Senate Democrats backing the maneuver, "We can stop anything they (Republicans) try to do with a congressional pay raise."

Democrats in the House and Senate want the $5.15-per-hour federal minimum wage, in place since 1997, to rise in 70-cent increments to $7.25 by January 1, 2009.

that affect REAL PEOPLE. Flag burning, guns, gays, and god, are all wedge issues, it is up to the DEMOCRATS TO BRING UP THE REAL ISSUES. No more excuses...

but they can't raise the minimum wage to $7.25??

What fucks~~

I was making $7.20 in 1977 at a union job for the Capital Centre in MD, I was a junior in high school!

Needless to say, with my experience and schooling, I am just under the $57,000 bracket for Help Desk and I know that I am underpaid!!!!!!!!!

I make 34,200 a year.

Let's not talk about underpaid.

Do we love him or hate him today? :shrug:

He is mainstream and subject to general failures.

This minimum wage strategy is right on target, though.

:evilgrin:

The Mac guy for president! Emo for the win!

who shares his or her knowledge, and operates by consensus and for the benefit of all.

Fight over which is better Mac and Windows and watch both of them hang you out to dry and send the jobs overseas.

Gee, what a novel notion....

Notice the camouflaged bias at work here, the insinuation of cynical motives on our part. Somehow you never hear Republican ploys identified as such, when their intentions are truly cynical--namely, to manipulate people through hatred and fear. Somehow a fag-bashing amendment or another abrogation-of-civil-rights bill is merely "cause for debate." Yet a 70-cent (!) raise in the minimum wage is framed as a stunt to win votes.

This reminds me of the fantastic work some DUer did some weeks back showing that the NYT never promptly identified the many Republican lawmakers who were indicted as Republican, but almost immediately identified the party affiliation of the one or two Dems who committed crimes.

And good framing of the issue, Mr. Reid. Keep it up!

We can only hope their resolve remains strong.

Come on! stick it to the overclass!

vote AGAINST his own interests by voting FOR the Republican slave-wage forces because of "traditional values" issues such as gay rights, flag burning and "terra"? Always, that's how many times. The Reich-Wing pushes their 'moral outrage buttons' and they line up to vote Republican every time, even though they're slitting their own throats in doing so. Alas, we don't have a very bright electorate.

Voting as if they were rich already.

Well now that we can all look forward to a prosperous retirement, thanks to the selfless efforts of our wonderful representatives, maybe we can get on with the real issues facing us. Have they found that sweet Holloway girl yet?

$7.25 by 2009 is pathetic. While I have to support whatever increase we can get, I can't imagine that $7.25 would pay for much of anything in at LEAST 90% of this country. Hell, I live in Iowa and I would be hard pressed to support myself on $7.25...I can't imagine trying to do this in a major urban area.

Why don't the damn Democrats we have in office play up the fact that its either an increase in the Minimum Wage, or an increase of people drawing benefits from welfare, etc? People will live one way or another...should we all pay for it, or should the corporations who are paying deplorable wages and retiring with millions?

$7.25 an hour is tossing poor people a bone--almost literally, since they can't afford to eat on what they make now, such a small increase will allow them to add little more than soup bones to their diet. It ought to $14/hr.

Oh, wait. I forgot I'm being delusional in thinking everyone should have a living wage. :eyes:

*weeps quietly

:hug:

my daughter just graduated from College (one of the top 40 in the country) and is making $10.00 an hour right now. I spent well over $100,000 to send her to College for THIS? :wtf: Yeah, tell me about the benefits of a College education in the 'bush economic boom-times'. :eyes:

Oregon's minimum is $7.50 right now, many other states are similar. But until we get a strategy that includes confronting conservative economics so that people will realize the minimum wage is a good thing, I'm afraid this is the best we can hope for.

Damn, California is only $6.75. And we pay the 2nd highest gas prices in the nation. plus housing is out of reach. I pay $900.00 a month for a 600 sqft apartment.

ANOTHER proposed congressional pay raise ? You`ve got to be kidding, right ?! :rofl:

Automatic cost of living adjustments. I think this year, finally, a family of 3 with a 40 hour min wage job would be above the poverty limit. We also have full min wage required for waitresses, so there's no $2.00 plus tips garbage either. Our economy is actually getting better, farmers have increased profits of something like 20% and restaurant owners have a 5% increase. Our unemployment is also down since the indexing a few years ago. If Congress deserves near-automatic pay raises, than so do the rest of us.

A huge increase won't happen overnight, even if we controlled both houses of Congress & the presidency. $7.25 is a realistic increase and won't generate nearly as much resistance from moderates.

And it is a good election year tactic. "We don't get a raise until the lowest paid do"

About time they grew a pair.

A great way of saying "fuck you" to all those republican scumbags trying to make more money while leaving people who really need it out in the cold. It's also a good way of showing unconvinced voters that from now on, the democrats are going to stand up for themselves, something they have not done in a while.

the 'game'. Do I dare to believe that the Democrats are FINALLY getting some starch in their backbones(??)time will tell.

We've been here before and watched as the Democrats buckled under.

They have already gotten their raise this year, two weeks ago.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/13/congress.payraise.ap/index.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/13/AR2006061301123.html

The House AND the Senate have to pass bills and then the President has to sign them sign them before they become law.

pay increases over the years.

could be huge. Remember what happened in Pennsylvania. People HATE politicians getting pay raises - I don't care what party you belong to.

get their raise.

It's more than fair, it's simple justice.

:toast:

that. It's a disgrace, and makes a mockery of the entire idea of a minimum wage.

I hope they will be able to hold firm and together on this -- no "moderates" jumping ship.

I'm not sure that's right either, but it does make you wonder about why the inversion.

is extremely difficult to find. One that understands your child, that your child wants to see, that you trust, that is available... presently my wife and i have one babysitter like this. I pay her what she asks (which is $8 an hour... quite reasonable, actually). We have paid $10 an hour before. I consider it money well spent... though we only hire a sitter 2 or 3 times a month. Mostly we trade babysitting with other parents we know.

I'm not sure why babysitters are hard to find. Maybe it's just become less popular? Or a more litigous society? Childcare centers have taken over? Dunno the cause...

That would pretty much solve the problem:



From the day this was ratified, Congress has had "automatic" pay raises that are not legislative acts and thus do not invoke this amendment. Without the automatic pay raises, the Dems would have much more leverage.

And if they continue to put the spotlight where it belongs, stick to the talking points ONLY, refuse to pal gottcha with the talking heads, we just might get too close for them to be able to steal the election.

Inflation will have further derided the dollar and today's $5.15 wage
will be the monetary equivalent of $7.25 in 09.'

So wheres the benefit?

Harry, get a grip- who do you think you're kidding?

The rewards the GOP receives in exchange for keeping wages down go far above their salaries.

give 'em hell HARRY! rich assed republicans! they also make the big salaries and use their connections to buy land and resell it for mass profits, and get involved in business deals that net them thousands or more!



www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<<--- check it out!

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

lOOKS LIKE THET'RE NOT ONLY GROWING SPINES BUT SYMMETRICAL PAIRS OF GONADS, male and female!!

Don't forget, they get free healthcare.

is over!

has increased their own pay within the past ten years (i think it was ten years) the minimum wage would be over $23.00 an hour

just as congressional health benefits should be eliminated until health-care is made universal. I hope this isn't just another backroom show, but becomes a fight that Republicans can never forget!

but hey, gotta start somewhere.

about G-D time. Perhaps we would be better off if Congress worked for minimum wage as well. One suspects it would be far higher than $5.15 per hour.

I mean... 'campaign contributions'. :)
Unfortunately I think that would just lead to rampant corruption, instead of the hastily covered up mutual backscratching that we have now.

I'm not sure it will even represent a real increase when inflation is taken into account.
Something like $12-$15 by 2009 would be reasonable.

I know it's theatre but I think it send the right message.

Dems need to be shouting this from the rooftops and lighting up the skies with this message until it is burned into minds and checkbooks of America!! THIS is the wedge baby! THIS issue is the scalpel that will seperate America from the NeoRoveCon and cut the chord of hot button issues (flag burning amendment goes down in flames LMAO)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2360932

"The federal minimum wage is gearing up to celebrate two new records. According to the Economic Policy Institute the minimum wage when adjusted for inflation is at its lowest level since 1955. The wage now stands 31 percent of the average hourly wage of nonsupervisory workers and has lost 25 percent of its value since 1997. With Congress voting down an increase last week, it looks like another record will be set when 2006 comes to an end - it will mark 10 years - the longest time the minimum has gone without an increase."

:bounce: