Received this e-mail today from decorated Admiral and former Congressman Joe Sestak's (D. PA) U.S. Senate campaign:
Last week, when the interviewers on Morning Joe asked Sen. Toomey about the minimum wage, they were surprised at his response and said to him, “it doesn't sound like you're for a minimum wage ... you would get rid of the minimum wage.”
Toomey didn’t deny it, as he called the minimum wage “irrelevant” and “not something that matters.” He claims “the vast majority of people who start in a minimum-wage job, if they show up and put in an honest day’s work, they’ll get a raise."
As minimum wage workers wait for Toomey’s promise of a raise to come true, inflation causes the minimum wage today to be only two-thirds of the value of the minimum wage in 1968. In fact, McDonald’s and Wal-Mart are the new “welfare queens,” as taxpayers actually end up subsidizing the wages of their employees. That’s because the minimum wage of workers at McDonald’s is so low, that it qualifies them for $1.2 billion in public assistance each year, and Wal-Mart workers receive $1,000, on average, in food stamps and other assistance.
But Sen. Toomey says it’s the laziness of the minimum wage worker — 60% of whom are women — and not inflation that has caused this. Our Senator from Pennsylvania has an unfair, catch-22, view of the American worker: he believes people who earn the minimum wage do not “put in an honest day’s work.” And then he asserts that minimum wage workers do this – not companies – because low-paid workers have “discover[ed] that the government will provide food, shelter, health care, education, transportation, cash, a very long list of all the things you need, as long as you don’t work very much, [and] you don’t make very much.”
I find this view offensive. I believe that a public servant should serve the people, but Sen. Toomey views himself as a private servant, serving private interests. Perhaps that’s why Politico says that he has a “50/50” chance of being re-elected. I am asking you to help improve these odds even more by clicking here to contribute to a campaign that believes in a government of, by and for the people.
https://www.formstack.com/...
The very first thing that I did in Congress was to co-sponsor 2007’s minimum wage increase – and it became law. We need a Senate that begins to get things done for people.
Warmly,
Joe Sestak
Click here to contribute to Sestak's campaign:
https://www.formstack.com/...