Katrina Vanden Heuvel's Editor's Cut: Congress Rejects Raising Minium-Wage
The nation's minimum wage has, shockingly, been stuck at $5.15 an hour since 1997. Yesterday, two proposals--from both Democrats and Republicans--were rejected in the House. The Democrats' proposal, introduced by Edward Kennedy (MA), called for an increase to $6.25 over an 18-month period. A Republican proposal provided the same $1.10 increase and added various tax incentives for small businesses. Both measures went down in flames as did the hopes of working people coast to coast that they might finally be more fairly compensated for their labor. Moreover, as Kennedy rightly insisted, it's “absolutely unconscionable” that in the same period that Congress has denied a minimum wage increase, lawmakers gave themselves seven pay raises worth $28,000.
I've lived on minimum wage before, and it wasn't easy, even for a single male, as I was at the time. You work 40 hours a week (really 50, because lunch is usually on your time) doing a crap job, and after various payroll taxes are deducted, there ain't much left to live on. Less than $200 a week to house, clothe, and feed a family is a tough, tough chore. Even raising the minimum wage to $6.50 is only a $50 increase, before taxes. There's no real reason that the minimum wage couldn't at least be pegged to inflation, or the CPI.
Tags: Congress
