Minimum wage freeze passes Washington State Senate | Seattle P-I

[Ediacara]

Tuesday, February 10, 2004 · Last updated 6:10 p.m. PT

Minimum wage freeze passes Senate

By PAUL QUEARY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Automatic increases in the state minimum wage, mandated by Washington voters, would stop during periods of high unemployment under a bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday.

Under an initiative approved by voters in 1998, the minimum wage goes up every year as long as the cost of living keeps rising. Known as "indexing," the increases keep the wage one of the nation's highest. On Jan. 1, it increased to $7.16, the highest in the nation.

Business groups and many Republican lawmakers argue that hurts the economy, costing jobs in small businesses that depend on minimum wage labor and areas such as agriculture that compete in global markets.

More at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

[david_vincent]

1. Right. The apple pickers in Washington must be made to compete

with the banana-plantation workers in Ecuador.
That's the glory of a free market!

[wickerwoman]

6. The apple pickers in Washington _are_ the banana pickers from Ecuador.

Most agricultural workers in Washington State are illegals and don't make the minimum wage anyway.

So how will freezing the minimum wage affect these agricultural workers?

[TheWebHead]

2. it would be interesting

if they had a similar bill that would raise minimum wages for employees of multinational corporations that break a certain level of profit margin... but I doubt we'll ever see that happen.

[bluestateguy]

3. Right on!

The problem is that workers make too much money in this country! When will lazy American workers learn that they have to be more productive and be able to work for less money, more hours and with fewer benefits! Now the businesses will really be able to create some jobs!!!

[Hegemony Cricket]

4. I'm getting into the spirit!!!

I've moved into my shed, created an authentic midden out front, dug a trench for my waste/drinking water needs, and now I'm off to repeatedly hit myself in the face until I forget how to read.

That ought to make me a very desirable worker...maybe I'll earn enough shiny pennies in a week to afford some lime for my midden.

[JPace]

7. LOL! I hope you don't forget how read and write though,

we need your humor here to survive the
AWOL regime.

[JailForBush]

5. Consider Seattle Schools Superintendent Joseph Olchefske

His salary was bigger than that of any state governor save New York's. While thousands of Boeing employees were being laid off, he got another pay raise. Then he lost more than $30 million, costing many teachers their jobs.

So is this SOB behind bars? No, they let him retire early, still drawing a salary. He bought a ranch, probably paid for with student lunch money. Then he moved back to Seattle as a consultant.

Nothing's going to change until we start treating these pigs the same we treat other criminals. Joseph Olchefske, Mayor Greg Nickels, Governor Gary Locke, Bill Gates and many more should all be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Do I sound a bit extremist?

You may want to ask the woman who was sentenced to life in prison under our three-strikes-and-you're-out law a few years ago for theft. How much did she steal in all? Less than $1,000.

[markus]

8. Maybe they should tie it to the stock market

eom

[Hotler]

9. stealing...

Steal a loaf of bread and go to jail. Steal millions and be called a great businessman.