NYT: Democrats Link Fortunes to Rise in Minimum Wage

[DeepModem Mom]

Democrats Link Fortunes to Rise in Minimum Wage
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
Published: July 13, 2006


(David Scull for The New York Times)
Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Democrats, before a news conference at the Capitol on Wednesday urging a wage increase.

WASHINGTON, July 12 — Democrats, seeking to energize voters over economic issues in much the way that Republicans have rallied conservatives with efforts to ban same-sex marriage, have begun a broad campaign to raise the minimum wage and focus attention on income inequality.

The Democratic argument is straightforward: it has been more than eight years since Congress last raised the minimum wage, to $5.15 an hour, and inflation has reduced its real value to the lowest level in more than 20 years. At the same time, Democrats say, executive pay has risen to ever-higher levels and Congress has regularly approved pay raises for itself.

With midterm elections less than four months away, Democrats have begun state ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage in more than a half-dozen states where Republicans are in danger of losing House or Senate seats.

The issue is playing a role in Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Arizona — all states where Republican senators are fighting for survival....

***

Democratic leaders in Congress are closely coordinating their efforts in Washington with campaigns in critical races around the country. Democratic lawmakers say they will try to block what is normally an automatic pay increase for members of Congress until Republicans agree to raise the federal minimum wage....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/washington/13wage.html

[autorank]

1. I'm all for that. Now lets save the planet to so people can spend that$$$

K&R

[1932]

2. In America, wealth is so incredibly polarized. I'm glad the democrats are

taking a stand on this issue. I'm glad they're talking about giving people who work so hard to create wealth in America a little bigger piece of what they create.

[Skink]

3. While were at it let's work on the maximum wage.

[AndyTiedye]

5. Our Best Shot at Limiting Executive Compensation is Shareholder Activism

[gratuitous]

4. Don't miss the cagey framing

If an increase in the minimum wage doesn't pass (and of course the Democrats are in no position to impose their political will on the federal government), then the Democrats can be painted as failures with no plan, no alternative, and the public will be perfectly justified in voting Republican again.

But I guess I'd rather be running on a platform to increase the minimum wage than one of further wholesale transfer of our nation's wealth into the already overstuffed pockets of the superrich.