Malloy Wants Highest-In-Land Minimum Wage For CT

[George II]

Source: Hartford Courant


By DANIELA ALTIMARI, [e-mail] Hartford Courant
1:07 p.m. EST, February 4, 2014

BRIDGEPORT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday he is introducing legislation during the upcoming regular session of the General Assembly that will increase the state minimum wage to $10.10.

If approved by legislators it would give Connecticut the highest minimum wage in the country.

Malloy signed a bill last year that increases the minimum wage, in two stages, to $9.15 by Jan. 1. 2015. The proposal announced Thursday afternoon would increase the minimum wage to $9.60 on Jan. 1, 2016 and $10.10 on Jan. 1, 2017.

"There is a debate happening across our country on how to tackle the growing income inequality that is detrimental to our middle class families and to our economy. Part of tackling that critically important challenge is making sure that we recognize that a good and decent wage is good for workers and good for business," Malloy said in a press release.


Read more: http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-malloy-minimum-wage-0205-20140204,0,3894148.story

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Maybe this will get the ball rolling in other states. He has a Democratic legislature with a super majority, and close to that in the state Senate.

[Mass]

1. I was told yesterday by a DUer that Malloy was no better than a Republican...

Goes to show. I would love if the GOP agreed with him on that.

[George II]

2. I live in CT, and have put up with 20+ years of republican governors.....

....don't know who told you that but he/she is totally wrong.

[MANative]

4. No way in hell

He was my mayor when we lived in Stamford and now our governor. I wouldn't go do far as to call him progressive on all issues, but he's a vast improvement over the repugs we've had, one of whom ended up in jail on a corruption conviction.

[Larkspur]

5. I live in CT and Malloy has pissed off a lot of teachers

He's pro for-profit charter schools.

Jon Pelto, who supported Malloy in the 2010 Dem primary and general election, became one of his leading critics in the state shortly have Malloy was elected governor.

Malloy is a bully, but he's not as bad as Bully Gov. Chris Christie. But he shares a similar contempt for teachers that Christie does. Last year, Malloy's Board of Ed team, which favored corporate charter schools, in Bridgeport lost to more progressive candidates in the Dem primary. The winners also won in the general election. However, Jon Pelto reported that the CT Dem Party spent $37,000 backing Malloy's losing picks for BOE in the Dem primary.

Dan Malloy was nicknamed "DLC Dan" because he was seen by progressives in the state as a pro-corporate Dem.

In 2010, Malloy won by about 6,000 votes. If Obama hadn't rallied his supporters in Bridgeport late in the campaign that year, Malloy most likely would have lost. Malloy's saving grace this time will be that the CT Repubs are like the Keystone Kops. Chris Christie is scheduled to visit CT to fund raise for CT Repubs, but not sure when or if he will still come. Malloy's biggest problem is rallying the Dem base to show up at the polls and vote for him. Not sure how unaffiliate voters rate Malloy.

Malloy is better than a Repub as Gov, but he has also left a bad taste in a lot of Dems mouths. He's CT's equivalent of Rahm Emmanuel.

[George II]

11. To us a take off of a famous Abraham Lincoln quote...

Here at DU, "You can please some of the DU people all of the time, and all of the DU people some of the time, but you can not please all of the DU people all of the time."

[BoneDancer]

3. Why wait? Tomorrow is February 5th, 2014. Isn't that good enough to crank it up?

[MissMillie]

6. You know, I get the income inequality argument, but

for me the broader discussion is growing the economy. People who earn minimum wage put all their money back into the economy immediately.

[Laelth]

7. Increasing the minimum wage will grow the economy.

Our economy is stagnant now because the majority of us have little or no money to spend on anything beyond necessities.

-Laelth

[MissMillie]

8. I believe that's the argument I was making, yes

If I didn't articulate it properly, I'm sorry.

[Laelth]

9. Cool. n/t

-Laelth

[father founding]

10. Were in the money!,Were in the money!

The minimum should be raised to 50.00 By January 1, 2095

[Sunlei]

12. while that is good news, he should have said in 3+ years. We need the FEDs to raise the minimum now.

Then all the states have to raise their minimum to match the Federal rate. 3 or 4 years is wayyy to freakin' slow.

Someone should push a bill to raise the Federal minimum to 12 an hour tomorrow and let "the people" hammer the hell out of them and make them sign soon.

They want votes to stay on in their cushie lifetime seats in Congress? raise the Federal minimum.