Cross posted from
The Democratic Daily:
The NY Times reports today that Democrats are "seeking to energize voters over economic issues" in ways similar to the ways that Republicans have rallied conservative voters with their "efforts to ban same-sex marriage." Democratic members of Congress have "begun a broad campaign to raise the minimum wage and focus attention on income inequality." Their 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."
The issue of raising the minimum wage was pushed to the forefront a couple of weeks ago after Congress
okayed a pay raise for themselves, but had once again dismissed the concept of raising the minimum wage. The Democrats gained some traction Wednesday with their bid to raise the minimum wage when 64 Republicans in the House
voted to support an increase to the minimum wage.
The House voted 260-159 to urge House-Senate negotiators to include a minimum wage boost, from the current $5.15 an hour to $7.25, in jobs covered by a job training bill under discussion. Sixty-four Republicans, many moderates from northern and northeastern states, joined Democrats in backing the non-binding resolution.
The author of the provision, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said that while the vote was symbolic, it "proves that if given the opportunity, a majority of House members would support increasing the minimum wage."
Seeking to press the issue of raising the minimum wage, Democrats have begun state ballot initiatives 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.
Over recent years, "hourly wages have climbed much more slowly than productivity." Because of this, "corporate profits have increased rapidly over the past several years and account for an unusually big share of the nation's total gross domestic product." The bottomline, one we all know -- the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that, "An estimated 14.9 million workers (11% of the workforce) would receive an increase in their hourly wage rate if the minimum wage were raised from $5.15 to $7.25 by 2008."
Of these workers, 6.6 million workers (5% of the workforce) currently earn less than $7.25 and would be directly affected by an increase. The additional 8.3 million workers (6% of the workforce) earning slightly above the minimum would also be likely to benefit from an increase due to "spillover effects".
But, the Republican leadership, with their allegiance to the corporate money machine, say that raising the minimum wage, "would discourage small businesses from hiring young and low-skilled people for entry-level jobs." What a load of BS! The corporate money machine doesn't want to let an extra dime slip out of their clutches, they are not small business owners -- Republicans have long twisted the concept of true small business with the corporate machine. There is a huge difference and it's glaring. Small businesses are people friendly, large corporations are money hungry.
I talk to small businesses owners everyday, not one says "oh no" to the concept of raising the minimum wage. Why? Because most small business owners, real small business owners don't have the audacity to offer anyone a job these days at minimum wage. They recognize that no one can live off of minimum wage, when prices keep rising and the cost of living has steadily increased while the minimum wage has been on hold since 1997. As a matter of fact, "the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage is 30% lower in 2006 than it was in 1979."
The Economic Policy Institute in their latest report say that, "there is no evidence of job loss from the last minimum wage increase."
A 1998 EPI study failed to find any systematic, significant job loss associated with the 1996-97 minimum wage increase. In fact, following the most recent increase in the minimum wage in 1996-97, the low-wage labor market performed better than it had in decades (e.g., lower unemployment rates, increased average hourly wages, increased family income, decreased poverty rates).
Studies of the 1990-91 federal minimum wage increase, as well as studies by David Card and Alan Krueger of several state minimum wage increases, also found no measurable negative impact on employment.
New economic models that look specifically at low-wage labor markets help explain why there is little evidence of job loss associated with minimum wage increases. These models recognize that employers may be able to absorb some of the costs of a wage increase through higher productivity, lower recruiting and training costs, decreased absenteeism, and increased worker morale.
A recent Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) study of state minimum wages found no evidence of negative employment effects on small businesses.
And while the Republicans like to float the concept that "teenagers," are a "big share of minimum-wage workers," the Economic Policy Institute provides a deeper look at just who works for minimum wage and who would benefit from an increase:
The earnings of minimum wage workers are crucial to their families' well-being. Evidence from an analysis of the 1996-97 minimum wage increase shows that the average minimum wage worker brings home more than half (54%) of his or her family's weekly earnings.
An estimated 1,395,000 single parents with children under 18 would benefit from a minimum wage increase to $7.25 by 2008.
Single parents would benefit disproportionately from an increase -- single parents are 9% of workers affected by an increase, but they make up only 7% of the overall workforce. Approximately 3.9 million parents with children under 18 would benefit.
Adults make up the largest share of workers who would benefit from a minimum wage increase: 80% of workers whose wages would be raised by a minimum wage increase to $7.25 by 2008 are adults (age 20 or older).
Over half (54%) of workers who would benefit from a minimum wage increase work full time and another third (30%) work between 20 and 34 hours per week.
At a press conference on Wednesday before the House vote that took a symbolic turn, Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and Bob Menendez, released a new report detailing how "minimum wage families have been left behind as the pay of CEOs, Members of Congress and the President have soared."
The report, entitled "Their Fair Share," shows worker productivity has increased while average working families have barely seen the fruits of their labor. Since the last time the minimum wage was increased (1997), CEO's have seen a 73% increase in pay while the pay of members of Congress is up 24% and the President's salary has increased 100%.
"Only this President and this Republican Congress would think that soaring gas prices, skyrocketing health care and education costs, stagnant wages, and a $300 billion deficit add up to good economic news," Senator Kennedy said. "This new report also shows who Bush economy has been working for - those at the very top of the economic ladder. Executive pay is up 73 percent, the average CEO makes more before lunch on the first day of the year than a minimum wage worker makes in an entire year."
Ted Kennedy has vowed to keep offering his amendment to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 again and again. He said at the press conference that Congress plans to bring up its own pay raise again on the Transportation Appropriations bill and he will use the opportunity to "hold Republicans accountable for ignoring working people."
Raising the minimum wage makes sense. We can't continue to ignore the worsening economy and the growing ranks of those living in poverty in this country. More expendable cash for the poor translates into more spending. I'm no economist, but, I am a single mother with a small business and I see first hand every day, the effects of large corporations growing fat off the backs of the poor while small businesses and the poor fend off more and more debt.
Helping the little people needs to be a priority again in this country. It's the right thing to do. The Bush administration has give breaks to the corporate whores for too long, America needs to get back to being America and that starts with a minimum wage increase.