The Minimum Wage Increase: Victory or Short-Term Band-Aid?

(Posting this in its own thread, because I don't want to spend a whole lot of time fighting accusations of pissing on people's parade in another one.)

We're all glad some traction's been made on minimum wage, but I wonder if it's the victory some are touting it to be.

Yes, it's nice to have another veto-proof majority, and it's great that we fulfilled a promise to the voters. But is it enough?

I've asked (and received no answer) about the increase being indexed to inflation. Was it? If not, the rising cost-of-living over the next two years will probably wipe out this 'win'.

Additionally, NAFTA/CAFTA continue to destroy jobs here in the United States, with outsourcing still a hot item for corporations, Has the new Democratic Congress made any noises about repeal of N/C, holding companies that exploit illegal immigrants accountable, restoring/shoring up collective bargaining rights, and similar pro-worker, pro-economy issues?

I'm glad something was done today, but I feel very strongly it should NOT be the end goal in the fight for workers.

Am I alone?

with respect to workers and labor issues in general.

What's the point of this thread again?

As explained in the OP, if this is not indexed to inflation, the rising cost-of-living will likely wipe out this bit of help in two years.

That's the entire point of the thread: don't assume this is enough when it's not.

Of course your not alone. But I cannot understate this "I'm Optimistic."

Change takes time.

:shrug:

I'm just looking back at the Clinton years, when liberals largely fell asleep in a lot of ways.

As long as this ISN'T considered a huge, end-all win, fine. Kinda like the whole anti-escalation 'nonbinding resolution' thing: fine if it's a first step, unacceptable if it's intended to be the last one.

They've all been given a tough job and my report card for now is a B+, it would be an A if Hoyer hadn't gotten MJ and William Jefferson hadn't been re-elected. But that's Washington for you.

PS. I'm not trying to patronize, I'm just saying what I think needs to be said upthread.

It also takes time to end a war, right?

Both statements are true.

I want this war over as much as anyone else, but I understand how Washington works and I'm prepared to accept that reality. Are you?

...rather than giving up and accepting the crappy one currently in effect?

Do you really think Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi don't want the quickest end to this as they can get?

Every issue of importance is told to WAIT.

If every great leader of the past had WAITED, guess where we'd be....

Who's waiting? They are doing this the smart, right way, and if you can't handle that, too bad.

I understand the value of protest, but the time has come for some realpolitiking on the Hill. And look it's working, 2 GOP Senators bucked the President today, and 1 conservative Dem came out against the surge. If you want to get anything done on the Hill you need a coalition, and Reid and Pelosi are successfully building that political coalition you actually need to end the war.

If Cindy Sheehan is the new Malcom X, then Howard Dean is the new Martin Luther King Jr. ;-)

Edit: May I remind you the Senate is 51-49.

use continuuing this conversation.

I hope someday you will find more room for compassion.

Have a good night.

But I'm a realist not an idealist.

Sorry, if I'm being rude, but I'm just starting to get sick of the refusal to admit our Democratic leaders will do something right and effectual.

:shrug:

Edit: grammar.

More must be done. This can only be a start.

like RFK. It's up to us to keep raising hell on their behalf!

Thanks, Zhade! :thumbsup:

And if we live in one of these districts where the red candidate voted yes, we need to make damn sure we write letters and give the credit to Democrats. Nobody ever said they were going to pass the 100 hour initiatives and then go home. Obviously there's more work to be done. But for right now, we should let the critters know they did good and then get this through the Senate and into law.

And definitely use it against those who voted no!

address minimum wage so we never have to deal with it again: peg it to inflation like COLAs or set it as a % of average wage. I watched a symposium on CSPAN2 last week that posited the idea of setting it at 30% of the national hourly wage.

It was a good show--cited 150 studies since 1990 (state studies evaluating the Min Wage) that found no significant increase in unemployment or inflation but a measurable decrease in poverty.

Wish I could remember who the panel members were . . .

I too am glad the min wage is raised. But the REAL issue is the ability of people to obtain decent shelter, food, healthcare, education etc. This requires more wealth to be spread down in some way shape or form. Increasing the min wage a dollar or two but raising the cost of living even more doesn't make a real difference. It just perpetuates the movement of all wealth to the few elites.

Of course I'm happy there's a pittance of relief now (and let's be honest, in today's world this is a pittance), but it simply cannot be accepted as the best we could do.

It's not.

I wonder how many people calling to encourage a Yes vote even mentioned indexing to inflation?

Bold prediction: We will have a Democratic Majority for years to come, and a Democratic President in 2008.

"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself." - FDR.

;-)

While the rest of us are lucky to get a 4-5% increase.

I hope my math is correct...

I think you're kidding yourself in thinking a 40% raise from poverty-level to slightly-higher-poverty level isn't a pittance.

I will reiterate: until wages are indexed to inflation, this is at best a stalling action. A necessary one, but not the goal by a LONG shot.

(Keep in mind, I make like five times the MW. It's not about me at all.)

of course it's long overdue and it's not enough to bring these people out of poverty, but it is an increase that I think will help those at the bottom.

Would no increase have been better?

Do you think they won't try to raise it again?

Let's break it down...

$3800 increase (per a figure given in this thread) over two years, so a $1900 increase the first year (for ease of math) equates to $158 more a month (before taxes, of course) than before the increase.

Good, yes! Enough to combat inflation? I don't think so, but again I'm no economist.

I just do not want people to conclude this settles the issue. Without indexing wages to inflation and addressing the issues I brought up in the OP (and some not mentioned), it's not even CLOSE to an ideal solution.

That's all I want - for people to remember this fight is far from over.

It's our job to keep the fire to our representatives' asses so they don't stop at this. After so many years of no progress (regression, actually), all of these small changes are actual progress, even if they don't permanently solve any problems (other than prove a Democratic Congress can be and is productive and acceptable to most Americans).

I mean, it's a victory of a sort, but huge?

A small step isn't really a victory, to my mind. Maybe I'm just leery thanks to too many broken promises.

What's sad is that something this small really IS a major victory for us at the moment, given the better half of the last decade. It's all a matter of perspective, and we're all coming from a different, if similar, one.

NT!

victory.

I do see what you mean.

I wish the Dems would stand up and be counted more, but when I say that, I get... well, you know how DU can be. ;)

I'm with you on this.

Ever onward.... :hi:

Hardly a bandaid...

Certainly there are other problems, but this is not trivial...

I'm no economist, but IMHO going from approx. 10,000 a year to approx. 13,000 a year isn't going to do much by the time this is fully in effect.

All I want to know is that everyone applauding this now does NOT kid themselves into thinking this will do all that much in even the medium-term. If this is as far as Congress is willing to go, it's unacceptably timid and restrained.

And it's clearly not a popular question, important as it is.

A 30% raise in two years won't do anything...?

Inflation is not running at 15% a year...for folks barely scraping by this is huge...

As I also said in the OP, it's not just about inflation.

because there are people RIGHT NOW who need more $$$, but....

:shrug:

I'm so sick of living in a country that can't care for each other better than this! :mad:

I agree with Sapphire Blue.... cut Congress back until they are living on minimum wage!!

NT!