Two Observations on the Politics of the Minimum Wage
February 15, 2013, 7:44 pm
Paul Krugman
It looks as if President Obama has successfully set a political trap over the minimum wage. Raising the minimum is very popular even a narrow majority of Republicans (pdf) are for it. But Republican leaders are opposed. And theyd like people to believe that their opposition is driven by sincere concern for workers who might lose their jobs.
Well, this isnt likely to work; the public wont believe in their sincerity, and for good reason. Here are two examples of why it wont wash:
1. The truth is that top Republicans have so little regard for ordinary workers that they cant even manage to pretend otherwise ...
2. Consider a working couple with two children, earning the current minimum wage. How much federal income tax do they pay? If Im doing the math right, the answer is, none they get a refund. (They pay plenty of payroll taxes, sales taxes, etc., but that isnt supposed to count). In the minds of Republicans, this makes them lucky duckies, members of the 47 percent, part of whats wrong with America. The GOP just cant credibly claim to suddenly be deeply concerned about their job prospects ...
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/two-observations-on-the-politics-of-the-minimum-wage/