Federal Minimum Wage To Increase to $7.25

As you may know, the federal minimum wage will increase from $5.15 to $5.85/hour, which is a 70-cent raise. This will happen again in 2008 and 2009, which by the end will make the new federal minimum wage $7.25/hour by the end of 2009.
Of course, this is being touted as a victory for everyone making the current minimum wage of $5.85, but the reality is that in the long-term it won't mean much and it may even hurt the very people it intends to help. I know that a lot of people will refuse to listen or accept the idea of this, but I truely believe it to be the case and I've saw the evidence first hand while working a minimum wage job myself.

Federal Minimum Wage To Increase to $7.25

Yeah...pass it along to the consumer in the form of higher prices. We couldn't possibly take the hit out of our epotentialy growing corporate profits. God forbid some CEO can't afford to trade up his Hummer this year....and to those in the middle of the wage scale...shut up with your "relative worth crap"...you're already making a decent wage. Raising the standard of living for those at the bottom requires the rest of us to sacrifice. Let some business owners and CEOs live for 120 days on minimum wage, just like the Congessmen who had to live on food stamps. Apparently, you've been drinking the Chamber of Commerce Kool-aid that has had people believing this warped perspective for years. They even have you believing you've "seen it with your own eyes". This is Republican fuzzy math at its worst, and assumes a chain of events that is highly unlikely to happen, because at the end of the day, they still need someone to sweep the sidewalks and bag groceries whether it costs them $5.25 per hour or it costs them $10 per hour. I say put the minimum wage at a reasonable level and then tie it to Congressional pay raises!

Isn’t “Affordability Tour” Really An Oxymoron

This past Friday, we were discussing the Vermont Leadership Institute’s latest fundraising brainstorm: a closed raffle for a new Prius, 1000 tickets maximum, $100 a piece. And we were lamenting the fact that even with those sweet odds, it’s a relatively short list in Vermont who could afford to get in on the fun.

Well, let’s not forget one name on that list: Jim Douglas.

This is a week old, but it still got me going...

Isn’t “Affordability Tour” Really An Oxymoron

150+ brave weather to March For Livable Wages!

Calling for livable wages and public policies that produce real family supporting jobs, over over one-hundred and fifty community members with representatives of over a twenty different local unions march and rallied thoughout Burlington on Saturday.

150+ brave weather to March For Livable Wages!

Raise the Minimum Wage!

"The US senate passed a bill to boost the federal minimum wage by $2.10 an hour over the next two years, bringing the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour by 2009. The bill contained amendments with controversial tax cuts for small businesses. The increase in the minimum wage is the first in a decade. It was approved by a 94-3 vote, finishing a nine day debate on the senate floor. The bill will now be reconciled with the House version that contained no tax provisions passed on January 10, 2007.
Senator Leahy voted yes on the bill, Senator Sanders Voted yes on the bill, and Representative Welch voted yes on the bill."

I think its very interesting to note that this site quotes a study that shows the last minimum wage increase had little to no impact on businesses. In fact it made measurable improvements in lower unemployment rates etc... So much for the Republican argument against raising the minimum wage. The Republicans would lead you to believe that by raising the minimum wage you will actually lose jobs. Businesses will have to eliminate positions at the low end of the pay scale (the expendibles) in order to maintain staff payrolls. What a bunch of crap! How about increase the price of your product by 1% and let the people who can afford it shoulder the burden.

I think the key thing to point out is that, while the minimum wage has stayed the same, government entitlements have seen steady increases. The payoff for working has too be greater than the payoff for being poor. People will work if it's wortwhile. Why bust your ass if you can get to the same nowhere in life by walking to the mailbox and getting a check? In either instance, you have to provide a liveable wage. Oh and by the way, we haven't even begun to discuss how the minimum wage stacks up against housing or healthcare costs. That is another lengthy discussion altogether. How did things end up this way? Why has the income gap grown into an impassible Great Divide? Mobil/Exxon and others are making record profits and the guy that pumps your gas can't afford housing without working a second job....Oh, wait. We already eliminated his job years ago with the greedy advent of self-service.....That's ok, I hear they're hiring like crazy in India and China. It's kind of a difficult commute though.

Alas, I'm left wondering what plausible argument one could make as to why the minimum wage is not tied to economic indicators or perhaps Congressional pay raises....Read more about the facts here!