Clawsonn reports: "More than 100 House Democrats introduced a bill Thursday to raise the minimum wage. Rep. George Miller's proposed legislation would raise the minimum wage to $9.80 over three years, 85 cents per year, then link it to inflation, so that raising it wouldn't have to be a giant political fight every few years."
A new push for raising the minimum wage is underway. (photo: Getty Images)
Democrats Introduce Bill to Raise Minimum Wage to $9.80
28 July 12
ore than 100 House Democrats introduced a bill Thursday to raise the minimum wage. Rep. George Miller's proposed legislation would raise the minimum wage to $9.80 over three years, 85 cents per year, then link it to inflation, so that raising it wouldn't have to be a giant political fight every few years. Tipped workers, who haven't seen their $2.13 minimum wage increased since 1991, would get 85 cent raises until the tipped minimum was 70 percent of the full minimum wage.
"Anyone who works hard and plays by the rules should not live in poverty. Yet 47 million Americans now qualify as the working poor. Raising the minimum wage helps families make ends meet," Miller said in a statement accompanying the bill.
If you work at the current minimum wage for 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, with no time off at all, the $15,080 you earn puts you $50 below the poverty threshold for a family of two. That—and the fact that many minimum wage employers keep workers at part-time levels—is why so many working people are forced to rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid and other aid programs. It shouldn't be controversial to say that if you work, you shouldn't be poor. But to today's Republican Party, that counts as a radical statement.
Raising the minimum wage won't even come up for a vote in Speaker John Boehner's House. We need a Democratic majority and Speaker Pelosi for that, just as we did in 2006 when Republicans had been blocking minimum wage increases for years. If ever you're tempted to think there's not enough difference between Democrats and Republicans to bother voting, remember that Democrats are the ones trying to give 28 million workers a raise in a way that will stimulate the economy.
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The hatred for the white working class is incalculable in DC and NYC
A single parent would still have a very difficult time getting that to cover rent, utilities, food, clothing, health care, transportation...
Why introduce a bill that prolongs a problem rather than solving it?
For a single taxpayer, the minimum withholding would be 14.3% and that's allowing that Congress won't let the reduced FICA tax rate for employees expire at the end of 2012.
If the FICA tax rate for employees does revert back to 6.2% in 2013, the minimum withholding would go back to 16.3%
So, a little over $17,000/year (and, incidentally, my calculation was based on a 52 week year – no time off), depending on whether congress behaves even more disgracefully than they have already.
And the fact that every time congress proposes some pitifully low increase in the minimum wage, they manage to water it down even further by phasing it in over several years. Wouldn't it be tragic if people could pay a few more bills right away?
First, it is going absolutely nowhere in the TeaParty-run House. It is a pure election ploy, though it may shine a light on the stupid Republicans. Second, even if it were to pass and become law, it will drive jobs to lower-wage countries.
I prefer that we first pass a bill that adds a heavy tariff to product manufactured in other countries. Then mandate a MAXIMUM wage companies can pay executives, and tie that to the minimum wage they pay their employees (with the $7.50+ minimum wage remaining as a floor).
But guys, get smart. As long as we have a congress that is bought-and-paid -for by the Fat Cats, we are screwed. Get the money out of politics with public funding of campaigns, and that requires that we throw every Fat-Cat congressman out of office until we reach our goal.
Do you have the balls to do that?
One employer has about half the restaurant staff on part time. Limiting the PERCENTAGE of part-time employees would make perfect sense.
And, in addition, we need to start pushing (again, as this has always been one of the basic, historic ecnonomic demands of the working class) for a cut in the work week. Given the new technology and the numbers of people unemployed or underemployed we no longer need to be working 5 days and 40 hours a week (or more for the many of us work longer hours). One of the ways that capital has kept up its profit-rate has been to keep virtually all of the increased profits from productivity increases over the last 30-40 years (along with keeping wages stagnant). One of the ways we start to get back some of these profits is to fight for less hours with no cut in pay (this was always the demand when people fought for the 8 hour day for example).
Can't we do any better than simply a minimal increase in the minimum wage (though this is surely needed to at this point)?
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