The Republican-controlled Senate refused Wednesday to raise the minimum wage

[Chiefs Minor Satellite]

If we raise the minimum wage are we only increasing the prevailing wage of the illegal immigrants?

Sounds very democratic to me.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Republican-controlled Senate refused Wednesday to raise the minimum wage, rejecting an election-year proposal from Democrats for the first increase in nearly a decade.


The vote was 52-46, eight short of the 60 needed.


"I don't think the Republicans get it," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy,
D-Massachusetts, who backed a proposal for a three-step increase in the current wage floor to $7.25 an hour. The federal minimum wage has been fixed at $5.15 an hour since 1997.


Republican critics said the minimum wage was a job killer, not the boon to low-wage workers portrayed by Democrats.


"This is a classic debate between two different philosophies. One
philosophy believes in the marketplace, competition and entrepreneurship, and the second is a philosophy that says government knows best," said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia. He said France and Germany have high minimum wages but also high unemployment.


But Kennedy and other advocates of an increase said minimum wage workers have been without a raise since 1997.


Underscoring the political context of the debate, he said if Democrats win the Senate this November, a minimum wage increase will be one of the first pieces of legislation to be considered.

[patteeu]

Good, they should have repealed it.

[Hydrae]

Originally Posted by patteeu

Good, they should have repealed it.

[jspchief]

But Kennedy and other advocates of an increase said minimum wage workers have been without a raise since 1997.

If anyone has been working at a minimum wage job since 1997 and not received a raise, it is because they are a blathering idiot.

What a ridiculous statement.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by jspchief

If anyone has been working at a minimum wage job since 1997 and not received a raise, it is because they are a blathering idiot.

What a ridiculous statement.

Because those 10 cent a year raises really makes for a great standard of living.

I will say this much. As a student, the difference between 7.25 and 5.25 is immense. It makes a huge difference when it comes time to pay the bills. The last time that I checked, the economy didn't exactly tank when we raised it in 97. Furthermore, since Bush seems so keen on replacing skilled labor positions with unskilled workers, this would at least allow them to eek out a standard of living that would creep above poverty.

[Hydrae]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Because those 10 cent a year raises really makes for a great standard of living.

I will say this much. As a student, the difference between 7.25 and 5.25 is immense. It makes a huge difference when it comes time to pay the bills. The last time that I checked, the economy didn't exactly tank when we raised it in 97. Furthermore, since Bush seems so keen on replacing skilled labor positions with unskilled workers, this would at least allow them to eek out a standard of living that would creep above poverty.

As ssoon as you raise the cost of labor, the cost of the end product will go up accordingly. There is no increase in the buying power for those at minimum wage, there is a loss of buying power for everyone else who doesn't get a $2.00 an hour bump mandated by the governement.

Don't know about where you are but here in Austin it is almost impossible to find a job that pays minimum wage. The market is taking care of itself just fine when starting wages for fast food are around $7.00 an hour.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Hydrae

As ssoon as you raise the cost of labor, the cost of the end product will go up accordingly. There is no increase in the buying power for those at minimum wage, there is a loss of buying power for everyone else who doesn't get a $2.00 an hour bump mandated by the governement.

Don't know about where you are but here in Austin it is almost impossible to find a job that pays minimum wage. The market is taking care of itself just fine when starting wages for fast food are around $7.00 an hour.

Do you really think that a $2 bump in the minimum wage will cause a domino effect all the way across the board?? Yes, some of the middle and *gasp* upper classes will lose a scintilla of their buying power...but they aren't at risk of losing their asses right now. Sometimes it's nice to have a little charity.

[mikey23545]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Do you really think that a $2 bump in the minimum wage will cause a domino effect all the way across the board?? Yes, some of the middle and *gasp* upper classes will lose a scintilla of their buying power...but they aren't at risk of losing their asses right now. Sometimes it's nice to have a little charity.

Work your way up like a decent Republican would, you whiny little sniveler.

This is such a straw man, it is a natural issue for Dems to take up. Almost no one works for minimum wage except college kids and some entry level wage earners. If you are over 20 years old and making minimum wage, the problem is with you, not some Buy-a-vote legislation.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Do you really think that a $2 bump in the minimum wage will cause a domino effect all the way across the board??

Yes, I do. Let the market dictate what people are paid, not government.

[Hydrae]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Do you really think that a $2 bump in the minimum wage will cause a domino effect all the way across the board?? Yes, some of the middle and *gasp* upper classes will lose a scintilla of their buying power...but they aren't at risk of losing their asses right now. Sometimes it's nice to have a little charity.

It's not the middle class I am thinking of. It is the 20 year old who started at minimum wage a couple years ago and is now making $6.50 an hour as a reward for his hard work up until now. Raise the minimum wage and where is he at? Right back at the bottom of the heap making the same as the new guy that started yesterday.

Let the "free market" take care of itself, that is what this country is supposed to be about. Get the government out of our daily lives!

[jspchief]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Because those 10 cent a year raises really makes for a great standard of living.

I will say this much. As a student, the difference between 7.25 and 5.25 is immense. It makes a huge difference when it comes time to pay the bills. The last time that I checked, the economy didn't exactly tank when we raised it in 97. Furthermore, since Bush seems so keen on replacing skilled labor positions with unskilled workers, this would at least allow them to eek out a standard of living that would creep above poverty.

Have you ever even had a job?

If you last a few years at a job that starts you at minimum wage, you won't be getting 10 cent raises, you'll be managing the place.

As others have said, minimum wage jobs are almost non-existent unless you're 14 years old. At least in this part of the country.

I'm not going to make claims about what it will do to the economy. But the notion that there are hard working people out there that are being held in poverty due to the minimum wage is absurd. Good employees are in too much demand for employers to be cheap about paying them.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by jspchief

Have you ever even had a job?

If you last a few years at a job that starts you at minimum wage, you won't be getting 10 cent raises, you'll be managing the place.

As others have said, minimum wage jobs are almost non-existent unless you're 14 years old. At least in this part of the country.

I'm not going to make claims about what it will do to the economy. But the notion that there are hard working people out there that are being held in poverty due to the minimum wage is absurd. Good employees are in too much demand for employers to be cheap about paying them.

I just finished my first year in grad school. Here is a listing of the jobs that I've had through 4-year school, including high school.

Golf Course Maintenance: Minimum
Hy-Vee: Minimum
Campus Job: Minimum
Radio Shack: Minimum + a small bonus if our store met a sales quota at the end of the month and small bonuses if I sold certain products (cell phones, namely).
Worked at a Pharmaceutical company in KC making $10/hour, but since I was independently contracted I was taxed at a 40% rate which made my effective wage about 6.50.

Keep in mind the last job was after I had graduated with a 3.9 GPA from one of the best schools in the Midwest, having worked 25 hours a week while doing so, and supporting myself throughout college.

I just don't buy that line.

BTW, the district office of the Radio Shack that I worked at was in Ankeny, IA, so yes they do in fact exist.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Hydrae

It's not the middle class I am thinking of. It is the 20 year old who started at minimum wage a couple years ago and is now making $6.50 an hour as a reward for his hard work up until now. Raise the minimum wage and where is he at? Right back at the bottom of the heap making the same as the new guy that started yesterday.

Let the "free market" take care of itself, that is what this country is supposed to be about. Get the government out of our daily lives!

The free market is inherently corrupt, IMO. Without proper regulation you end up with small numbers of people screwing all the less fortunate out of their meager pittance.

[recxjake]

GOOD JOB!

all raising the minimum wage does is increase inflation....

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Donger

Yes, I do. Let the market dictate what people are paid, not government.

You do realize that this was tried in the 19th century. The last I checked it was an unmitigated disaster for the majority of the country.