Martin O'Malley Just Jumped to the Left of Elizabeth Warren. Your Move, Hillary.

[Lunabell]

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/121569/martin-omalleys-15-minimum-wage-puts-hillary-notice


Speaking at Harvard University on Thursday night, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley cranked up the pressure on Hillary Clinton by calling for a $15 an hour minimum wage and voicing his opposition to President Barack Obama’s massive trade deal, the Trans Pacific Partnership.

"As we gather here tonight," he said, "wealth and economic power in the United States of America have now been concentrated in the hands of the very few as almost never before in the history of our country."

During her first week in the presidential campaign, Clinton has tried to win over progressives in the Democratic Party by attacking CEOs for not paying their workers enough and saying that gay marriage should be a constitutional right. But both the minimum wage and trade pose an early test of Clinton's progressive credentials. Her positions on those issues will offer a clear indicator where she stands in the Democratic Party—and what her potential presidency could look like.

While a $15 minimum wage has garnered support in different cities and localities across the country, O’Malley is the first major Democratic politician, to my knowledge, to endorse it nationally. Congressional Democrats and the president, for instance, want to raise the minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour, to $10.10 over three years. Over the past few months, Senator Patty Murray has lobbied her Democratic

[OKNancy]

1. He seems like a great guy, but he will disappoint people

just wait.

For example:

O`Malley adopted the manifesto, "A New Agenda for the New Decade":

Build a Public Consensus Supporting US Global Leadership

The internationalist outlook that served America and the world so well during the second half of the 20th century is under attack from both ends of the political spectrum. As the left has gravitated toward protectionism, many on the right have reverted to “America First” isolationism.
Our leaders should articulate a progressive internationalism based on the new realities of the Information Age: globalization, democracy, American pre-eminence, and the rise of a new array of threats ranging from regional and ethnic conflicts to the spread of missiles and biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. This approach recognizes the need to revamp, while continuing to rely on, multilateral alliances that advance U.S. values and interests.
A strong, technologically superior defense is the foundation for US global leadership. Yet the US continues to employ defense strategies, military missions, and force structures left over from the Cold War, creating a defense establishment that is ill-prepared to meet new threats to our security. The US must speed up the “revolution in military affairs” that uses our technological advantage to project force in many different contingencies involving uncertain and rapidly changing security threats -- including terrorism and information warfare.
Goals for 2010
A clear national policy with bipartisan support that continues US global leadership, adjusts our alliances to new regional threats to peace and security, promotes the spread of political and economic freedom, and outlines where and how we are willing to use force.
A modernized military equipped to deal with emerging threats to security, such as terrorism, information warfare, weapons of mass destruction, and destabilizing regional conflicts.

-------------------------

List of Democrats participating in 00 DLC - 12
http://www.ontheissues.org/Notebook/Note_00-DLC12.htm

---
I don't see anything particularly wrong with the above, but some here will.

[VanillaRhapsody]

6. Not to mention he supports Free Trade!

He is just their Crush Du Jour!

[Lunabell]

10. No he doesn't

http://action.martinomalley.com/page/s/no-fast-track-on-tpp?source=150417_fb

[sabrina 1]

30. There you are again! He OPPOSES the TPP. I see Hillary has mentioned the TPP, but hasn't

said where she stands on it. She is 'watching' she says, what is going on in DC. Is there some reason why she doesn't know yet where she stands on this most important issue?

O'Malley has been vehemently opposed to it. And rightly so. The Wikileaks exposures confirmed everything everyone suspected and explained, as Warren said, why it had to be kept so secret because, Warren said people in congress had told her, 'if they knew what was in it, they would oppose it'.

Well, we know where Warren, Bernie Sanders and O'Malley stand on the TPP.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

23. I honestly don't know what the link is showing me.

It is referenced as the year but 2000, but then registers O'Malley as a governor. But O'Malley wasn't governor till 2007. Also some at the bottom seem to be misidentified as to party. What is the earth shattering revelation?

[OKNancy]

24. the link is just a list

of those who participated in the DLC meet.
They adopted the manifesto, "A New Agenda for the New Decade"

-- it's not earth shattering. It's pretty mainstream.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

25. Signed in 2000? n/t

[OKNancy]

26. I think it was drafted then

have no idea when he signed on to it...
maybe this will help: http://www.ontheissues.org/Governor/Martin_O%60Malley_Foreign_Policy.htm

[Admiral Loinpresser]

42. So he signed it 7-14 yrars later?

I still don't get all this, although it seems like an OppRes dump; one document without relation to another. With respect to foreign policy. he is going to go thru a steep learning curve, like every other new candidate. I like that he is emphasizing soft power, something which has been underutilized by both parties in the last 15 years.

[Thinkingabout]

2. Since Hillary and EW is in the same position on the left, O'Malley had to travel some distance to

Get to the left of those two. Actually O'Malley is rated as a Moderate Liberal.

[BlueJazz]

3. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic> $7.25 per hour, to $10.10 over three years.

Wow, that's a raise of 95cents per year. Shit yeah! That will make up for decades of shit wages PLUS ensure that the working scum will keep up with the future.

I've yet to see a politician say that type of bullshit when I've been in the room. I'd probably fuckin' lose it.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

28. Of course I agree that $10.10 is way too low, but that's not on MOM, imo.

He said it was all he could get. A lot of governors and a president got nothing. We need to get a fighter in there who will get as good as he can, tie it to COLA, and then go after it again at the next opportunity till we catch up to Europe.

[sabrina 1]

31. 'Tie it to COLA', yes, thank you! And raise SS benefits for them same reason, O'Malley is also for

doing that he said last night.

[BlueJazz]

33. I tend to get caught up in the anger of seeing one of my countries populous treated like slaves.

(I'm dual citizen) It breaks my heart when I go to Australia and see janitors making 17-19 dollars an hour (14-16 US dollars) and they have health care AND they don't dread going to work for some puny pay.,,,and they get sick pay, time off..etc.

It's such a damn shame.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

44. BTW, Montgomery County and other counties in MD

have raised the minimum wage above $12 now. That's a helluva lot better than in the red state I;m living in.

[libdem4life]

4. $10+...yes. $15...no Why? Is there anyone here that does not understand what that will do to a

company? Good lord, it increases their labor by 50%. Perhaps on the West Coast and other wealthier areas, but it has to be ramped up. When businesses go away, guess what, so do the jobs and down the financial pecking order. Notice what WalMart just did, or so it seems. When push comes to shove, the big ones win. Is it fair? Of course not. But we've got to deal carefully with what we have, and still move forward.

[upaloopa]

7. This is a consumer economy. When people have

money in there hands they spend it creating demand. Your supply side thinking has been so debunked it is really amazing you post it here!

[libdem4life]

15. It's not supply side...sorry if that's what you call it. You walk out there to any small or medium

size business and try that on them. Here's how the meeting will go...Glad you all could make it today. We have good news and bad news. First of all we're raising wages to $15 an hour. When the cheers and excitement calm down...then here's the bad news. Here are pink slips for the bottom 1/3 of you. We tried to make it fair, so we just went by hire date. Any questions?

What about the rest of us? We'll keep you updated.

Supply side, my ass. Real world. Anyone who has ever owned a small/medium sized business knows...profit margins are razor thin. Oh, and as to the consumers, the same amount of money is out there doing all those magical things...it's just fewer people spending it. And let me also tell you, where to the other 1/3 laid off go? On unemployment and welfare...and that pretty much balances out the tally.

It must be done incrementally, or it will fail in many parts of the country.

Oh, and I post here because I'm a Liberal...with a capital L. I think there should be a minimum annual income across the board, just for starters. But I'm also a Realist.

[Chan790]

47. Those bottom-third layoffs are rare for the reasons Keynes said they would be...

labor-cost simply does not determine the number of employees a business needs.

No business-owner thinks "I don't really need another employee but what the hell, they're cheap." Hiring is driven by labor-demand alone...and labor-demand is cost-blind--if you need 4 employees, then you need 4 employees...whether they cost you $7.65/hr., $10.10/hr. or $15/hr. you're not going to be able to get away with 3. If you can get by with 3, you really didn't need 4 to begin with and were managing your business poorly.

[libdem4life]

48. We're talking about the minimum wage here. Phil's Pizza has to double his payroll cost. This isn't

about anyone's management. It's the government. There is NOTHING market driven about this. In a normal market I would agree with you.

But doubling (or even bringing it up) someone's labor cost is Not Going to Work. Wonder why WalMart is closing stores in the Midwest? That is market reaction. Swift, within 2 hours people were told they no longer have a job. It's horrifying and WalMart always gets the press, but I'm guessing businesses are starting to reassess very carefully.

Not so much in smaller increments...which has been my point from the beginning of this interesting exchange.

Oh, well.

[davidpdx]

50. Very true

After reading that I wasn't sure if I was at a RNC meeting or talking to Pappa John himself.

[Atman]

13. If a business has a product people want, it will stay in business.

The increase is over three years, plenty of time for businesses to make adjustments. Plenty of time for business owners to ask themselves the tough questions, like: "Is it worth bustin' my stones making these crummy pizzas and making only $12,000 a year?"

Real, viable businesses won't suffer, especially when the workers in town are finally making enough money to go out and buy stuff.

[libdem4life]

16. What is a viable business? They must make a profit, even if they have something people want. If

can't keep their doors open, well Domino's will come in and buy them if they still have customers. Or, they'll lose their investment. I'm going to guess you've never owned a business...I could be wrong.

[Atman]

27. You're very wrong.

I've owned a publishing and promotions company, and an ad agency.

[libdem4life]

34. Thanks for your opinion...if you could double your wages, good for you and your business.

Most don't have the incredible cash flow. And please, really, "You're very wrong" is not appropriate for discussions on DU, as I understand it.

[Persondem]

39. You should check the research and history of raising wages.

Do some Googling. You'll likely learn something.

[libdem4life]

40. Such clever snark. Not necessary. I'm against DOUBLING the minimum wage. It should go up

gradually. Oh, and I work in this "business" so I don't need The Google...or your snark. Go talk to a small business person and try that line. I don't think so.

[Persondem]

45. Well, I wasn't being snarky. It seemed like you didn't know the history or details.

There's also research out there about how posts on the internet and such things as text messages tend to be interpreted negatively. Now that was kinda snarky, but hopefully more of a fun kind of snarky). Cheers

[libdem4life]

46. I get it..thanks. I still can't get used to the one-liners..so bereft of details and facts.

[Atman]

58. "[Minimum wage| should go up gradually."

Last edited Sat Apr 18, 2015, 06:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Which is precisely what we've been talking about. It goes up GRADUALLY. No one is proposing that tomorrow any business in America has to double its payroll. You seem to be seriously misinformed.

[libdem4life]

61. It was suggested in the OP...try not to take this so personally. There are those seriously

proposing that...and others like the President suggesting moving it up to $10.10 a dollar a year.

[Atman]

59. Your post: "I'm going to guess you've never owned a business...I could be wrong."

My reply: "You're very wrong."

How is this inappropriate? You don't seem to understand the minimum wage OR what is appropriate o post on DU.

[libdem4life]

60. Again, I ask. What happens to a business when it's largest budget item doubles? That's the question

That was what I was criticized for...having the nerve to say that would plow a lot of small business under happening all at once. Do they lay off folk, or raise their prices? That's the economic question. And it's OK, you don't need to answer.

[libdem4life]

64. Here is another take...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026531234

Bankruptcies Suddenly Soar Across Corporate America, Worst First Quarter Since 2009

[Maedhros]

18. If minimum wage had kept up with inflation, it would be well over $15/hr.[n/t]

[libdem4life]

19. This is true. But it didn't and it must start somewhere.now. But we can't afford for small/medium

business to pick up the slack in one felled swoop. The largest budget item, by far, of any business is the payroll. So, if you're in a 10% profit situation...which is still barely in business...you double the largest budget item by law? It would be chaos.

It must be incremental. When small business fails, guess who wins? The corporations pick them up for pennies on the dollar. Is that what people want? I don't think so.

[Maedhros]

20. I see your point. We should look to Seattle for clues on how to proceed.

They increased minimum wage in the city to $15/hr in June 2014.

[Dragonfli]

21. I guess all the businesses had to close down

Must be a real ghost town, I mean libertarians for life really know their stuff so Seattle probably is full of empty buildings and homeless people. It must really suck to live there huh?

[libdem4life]

35. Seattle is near the HQ of Microsoft. Wages are already highthere. It's a regional discussion. n/t

[libdem4life]

32. I lived 50 years on the West Coast and Seattle is a wealthy city...Microsoft HQ in WA.

With the cost of living there, it should probably be more. But you can't equate a Minimum wage for all. In Oklahoma, that's a heck of a good income and one can live on it. One can not live on $15 an hour in Seattle. Just rent along...where I lived in Northern California, a one-bedroom apartment rents for $1200, and I'm sure it's more in Seattle. In OKC, it's $450 or so. That's a big difference.

Employers will pay what is needed to attract the talent they want. Conversely, Walmart just shuttered some Midwestern stores.

It's complicated and should be attached to the COLA in the state or area.

[F4lconF16]

57. Not quite.

We voted to phase it in. It was only this month that it was raised, to $11.00 an hour. Still better than nothing, but basically useless. I'm trying to save enough money to go back to school in a year, and at minimum wage, I'll be spending close to 50% of my income on housing alone. I'll be barely able to save. We have no rent control, etc., and housing prices are skyrocketing. Even $15 an hour isn't enough. It's a liveable wage, barely, but by no means a good one.

[libdem4life]

62. Believe me, I understand this. I lived in Southern and Northern California for 50 years. $15 an

hour is bare minimum, as you say. In other regions $10 is barely livable. I think people who make $10 or so an hour, they qualify for food stamps, which at least helps with a couple hundred for food.

I am glad that it's up again and about all we can do is try to pressure our representatives to stick their necks out, because Walmart would rather close stores than pay higher wages...and they did. Gave their poor employees 2 hours notice. It was also noted that the California closure was the first store that walked out.

[Maedhros]

63. Thank you for the clarification [n/t]

[Jim Lane]

29. Asking for $15 makes it more likely that you'll get $10

Bear in mind that most Republicans won't go along with even the smaller increase. Heck, a good number of them want to abolish the federal minimum wage entirely.

If the choices are between "abolish it" as the right-wing position and "increase to $10.10" as the left-wing position, then "keep at $7.25" looks like the sensible compromise, at least to the large number of politicians and the even larger number of voters who don't look closely at the substance but who gravitate toward what they see as the middle.

We're better off if those people see the issue as "keep at $7.25" on the right versus "increase to $15" on the left. Then $10.10 is the sensible moderate compromise.

The right wing has been playing this game for years. That's how they've shifted the ground so much that, as Obama himself said, he's roughly where moderate Republicans were a generation ago.

[libdem4life]

41. Seattle can afford $15 an hour, so that's a good thing, but it's not a living wage there. Reps in

the less wealthy regions can't begin to go there.

Then there is Walmart. They just up and closed a few stores. Of course the clever snarks probably didn't notice that or think that it might have been in response to the demand for higher wages. It's done all the time.

[rogerashton]

52. Check the evidence.

The wikipedia page on minimum wage laws is pretty complete. Unfortunately it is a bit jargony.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage

One thing that the wikipedia page seems to miss is the importance of wage discrimination in labor markets. That is not only discrimination by gender and skin color, but different wages for the same work by people of the same skin color and gender, just because of differences in bargaining power. Some studies have found that a major result of increases in the minimum wage is to narrow the range of wage discrimination. This does not reduce the demand for labor, which depends on the "marginal" (best paid) employee.

Another offsetting tendency is that relative prices shift. Hamburgers may become a little more expensive, in relative terms; cellphones a little cheaper. If there is an impact on employment, this would reduce it. The supply-and-demand argument that minimum wages reduce employment is a "partial analysis" argument; economists have known for about 135 years that this is inconclusive.

[libdem4life]

53. One last time...I am for raising the minimum wage...now. Just incrementally. Then what you have

copied is true. Nowhere nohow does that refer to the unprecedented $15 wage, say in the Midwest or the South. I'm not talking about discrimination or "making hamburgers a little more expensive". The above might still have a bit of relevance if, as I have been advocating, if is done in increments, not one felled swoop. There's A Big Difference.

Again, WalMart just closed entire stores in the Midwest. Theses stores are often lower profit stores because of the geographic economy, anyway, but the others keep them going.

You go find me an article that refers to this situation, and I'll listen. Like I said, I work in the small business arena. And you know what? They're disappearing at a phenomenal rate. No, they don't get the WalMart publicity. Study what happens to rural areas when kids graduate from high school. There are fewer and fewer good jobs anywhere other than the city, so off they go. I know, I was one of them. This has been happening for half a decade. And they don't generally go there to work for small business. Along with the drought which has crippled many Midwestern entities, add in a chunk hike of minimum wage...it will happen sooner rather than later now. How the hell do you think the corporations got so powerful? They have had a waiting pool of those needing to work.

And frankly, I don't give a crap what economics have "known" for 135 years. They've hardly ever been right...that's well known in actual life. They thought phony loans and overseas "tranches" were just peachy, too. And, we were on the real dollar/backed by gold (until Nixon), Reagan wasn't born (I don't think), jobs weren't being shipped overseas for cheaper labor, and we had a robust rural life.

Boggles the mind.

Peace Out.

[rogerashton]

55. Opinions are like ....

You ASSERT that a $15 minimum wage would be all different. Offer some evidence. I gave you evidence on the issue, but you ASSERT that it is irrelevant to $15. Evidence?

You say that "small businesses are disappearing at a phenomenal rate." That was true a few years ago, but the failure rate is back down to what it was before the Great Recession -- about 3%. Source: the Small Business Administration.

https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Startup%20Rates.pdf

As to economists being wrong -- yes, they are often wrong, when they ignore what their profession has known for 135 years and apply the supply-and-demand model to labor markets anyway. Well, full disclosure, I am an economist, and history of economics is one of my teaching fields. I am not a fan of my powerful colleagues who hold degrees in economics but really are politicians.

As for that robust rural life, that's how I grew up. You can have it. Reagan had been born, and was playing second banana to a chimp.

libdem4life, sounds to me like you are channelling Rand Paul.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/01/27/do-9-out-of-10-new-businesses-fail-as-rand-paul-claims/

[libdem4life]

56. Rand Paul, my ass. Note that during the time quoted, the Minimum Wage was stagnant.

We have absolutely No History other than common sense. What percentage of a business dollar is payroll? What % profit do they need to stay in business? Say they increase business taxes 50%. Do they raise prices, or lay people off? This is macro...over a few years, etc. I'm talking right now...micro...next 6 months.

I'm happy to discuss and learn, but please answer without a lot of "you s" ... it's tacky.

As I stated somewhere, about the rural life. No jobs. Went to the city to school and stayed.

I also remember when interest rates spiked up to 18% +/- I was selling houses. Economic earthquakes always take their toll. I can't tell you how many people lost their homes and jobs...regular people and my colleagues. The market was able to absorb up to just over 10%, but after that it was death buy just a few paper cuts.

Please hear me one more time...incremental increases...yes.

(Edit: missed a "you" myself.)

[upaloopa]

5. Smart move. Wait till Hillary says something then

then out progressive her. Lazy way to run a campaign!

[elehhhhna]

11. yeah, it is very easy to outprogressive Hillary

[Thinkingabout]

8. O'Malley may not be aware Hillary sponsored a bill to tie the increases of

Minimum wage to raises to Congress. She was also on the last minimum wage increase, maybe some will tell him.

[OKNancy]

9. How many times have I posted that she co-sponsored minimum wage increases 5 different times

while in the Senate? LOL!

[Lunabell]

12. Love your sig

Not ready to "grant" Hillary the nomination yet, but I would love to see her come out swinging against the rethuglicans. I hope she does have a challenger from the left so we can see what she is really made of.

[OKNancy]

14. thanks

I hope that as well.

[Thinkingabout]

17. I have posted the same also. It seems they want to down play if she established a record while

She was a senator but it is still a part of her record. I was reading a post today claiming Hillary is talking like EW but Hillary was already on record before 2009. I dont dislike EW and she is doing a fine job in the Senate but Hillary has been on many issues for many years. I know a lot is talking points without any backup and they are not truthful.

[Evergreen Emerald]

22. I know. Everything that O'Malley says

is cheered as if it is the first time anyone has ever said it. And they "wait" for Clinton to explain her view--when she has numerous times.

[NYC Liberal]

36. Hillary made that move years ago. She has repeatedly supported increasing the minimum wage.

Hillary Clinton fought to tie the minimum wage to future increases in congressional salaries.
Hillary Clinton repeatedly introduced the Standing with Minimum Wage Earners Act to bind future salary increases for Congress to mandatory increases in the federal minimum wage. Under the provisions of the legislation, the federal minimum wage would be “automatically increased” by “a percentage equal to the percentage by which the annual rate of pay for Members of Congress increased for such year…” Speaking to the importance of her bill, Senator Clinton said, “We can no longer stand by and regularly give ourselves a pay increase while denying a minimum wage increase to help the more than 7 million men and women working hard across this nation. At a time when working families are struggling to put food on the table, it’s critically important that we here in Washington do something. If Members of Congress need an annual cost of living adjustment, then certainly the lowest-paid members of our society do too.”

Hillary Clinton repeatedly introduced legislation to increase the federal minimum wage.
Hillary Clinton’s Standing with Minimum Wage Earners Act of 2006 would have increased the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over two years. Introducing her 2006 bill, Senator Clinton stated: “I ask my colleagues to recognize the moral aspect of this issue. It is simply wrong to pay people a wage that they can barely live on… We should raise the federal minimum wage so that working parents can lift their children out of poverty. It is past time to make this investment in our children and families.” Senator Clinton’s Standing with Minimum Wage Earners Act of 2007 would have increased the federal minimum wage from $5.85 to $9.50 an hour.

Hillary Clinton cosponsored bills to increase the minimum wage five times and consistently voted to support it.
Over the course of her time in the U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton cosponsored bills to raise the federal minimum wage in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007. Senator Clinton opposed Republican efforts to weaken the minimum wage, and she repeatedlybacked Democratic efforts to raise it. Although she opposed the Iraq funding bill it was folded into, Clinton cosponsored the original version of the Fair Minimum Wage Act that increased the minimum wage for the first time in ten years, from $5.85 to $7.25 an hour. It was one of the five bills Senator Clinton cosponsored to raise the minimum wage.

http://correctrecord.org/hillary-clinton-less-minimum-more-wage/

[libdem4life]

37. It's OK. I think she's very smart just to stand back and let them get it all out. She has a

confidence about her I haven't seen before. The Republicans will claw each other's political eyes out, and she'll still be there. I'm feeling that the Independents, who usually make the difference and aren't tied to a party, will favor her, as well.

[msongs]

38. has he officially announced as candidate yet or is St. Martin Of Maryland bloviating? nt

[libdem4life]

43. Ouch! Care to share?

[Lunabell]

49. IKR

It's as if people have crowned Hillary already.

[libdem4life]

54. Sounded like the poster already knew about O'Malley calling him St. Martin. Just wondering the scoop

because most of us don't know him.

[JustAnotherGen]

51. Suggestion - don't make it about Clinton

As the press wants it to be. This is about us vs. them. I've given to two PACS/exploratory committees - O'Malley is one of them.

It's not about making Clinton pull left - it's about death by a thousand cuts from our side to theirs.

Don't fall for the MSM's bullshit. We need to stay positive and pull together. I applaud former SOS and Senator Clinton's out of the gate approach.


And I fully and financially support O'Malley's. I've got a feeling that by the end of June people who say there is no difference between us and them - aren't going to have a lot of ways to make that point.

Not a single one of those assholes running for the Republican nomination are going to come out for raising the minimum wage or for fully extending the most basic of human rights to gay men and lesbians.