IL Gov. Candidate Sorry For Call To Lower Minimum Wage

[RandySF]

The Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate who said the state's minimum wage should be lowered is now backtracking.

A day after an interview surfaced in which equity investor Bruce Rauner, one of a handful of Republicans in the gubernatorial race, said that the minimum wage should be lowered by a dollar rather than raised, he backtracked.

"I made a mistake. I was flippant and I was quick," Rauner said in an interview with The Chicago Tribune. "I should have said, ‘Tie the Illinois minimum wage to the national wage and, in that context, with other changes in being pro-business, I support raising the national minimum wage.’ I’m OK with that."

Specifically, Rauner argued that Illinois' minimum wage should be lowered from $8.25 to $7.25. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. That proposal contrasts with calls by Gov. Pat Quinn (D), who Rauner is hoping to replace, to raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour. President Barack Obama and national Democrats have also called on raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/il-gov-candidate-apologizes-for-call-to-lower-minimum-wage

[frazzled]

1. You said it, you own it

Too late, Rauner.

These guys don't seem to understand where the public sentiment lies, and they're falling all over themselves.

[politicman]

2. question

Can someone explain to me how this idiot saying that the minimum wage should be lowered by $1 is equivalent to raising the minimum wage in his eyes?

[hobbit709]

3. On Planet Bozone anything is possible.

[politicman]

5. another question

One thing I never understood, is why CEO's of Corporations who don't get the profits of the company's they manage, care about trying to save every cent they can when their workers are struggling to financially survive?

I get that the stock price of the corporation puts pressure on CEO's to constantly improve profits, but surely a couple of million or so in extra wages to their employees wont cause a sell off in the stock price, especially when the profits come in in the billions of dollars.

[hobbit709]

6. Because by driving the share price up they make a bundle on their options.

Way more than their pay.

[politicman]

7. i get that part

I understand that part, but when a company reports its earnings, they come in at close to a billion dollars or more.

When investors look at the earnings they don't say, 'hey, look such and such company missed their profit by a couple of million dollars'.

So it seems to me that even if these corporations spent a couple million extra on their employee wages, it will never be noticed by the market and it wont make a difference to the stock price.

[hobbit709]

8. They don't care.They only care about share price.

The only wages they care about are their own executive ones. If they could make you work for free they would.

[beachbum bob]

4. out of touch conservatives and business leaders

who think they know best for hardworking people....the min wage is a sham. More adults who are trying to support themselves and others are being paid min wage than high school kids. Look at the fast food place how many of the workers are adults trying to survive. If politics are local, extremist views of the gOP wont play well in Illinois with our unemployment rate and the constant blackmail by businesses here for taxpayer handouts...ADM does it, Caterpillar does it..walmart has always done it.

[Enthusiast]

9. Another Republican asshole.

What a creep.