Minimum Wage Hike Approved

New Rate Of $7.25 By Summer 2009 Is First Raise Since 1997

(AP)  America's lowest paid workers won a $2.10 raise Thursday, with Congress approving the first increase in the federal minimum wage in almost a decade.

President Bush was expected to sign the bill quickly, and workers who now make $5.15 an hour will see their paychecks go up by 70 cents per hour before the end of the summer. Another 70 cents will be added next year, and by summer 2009, all minimum wage jobs will pay no less than $7.25 an hour.

For years, the idea of increasing the minimum wage has been stalled by partisan bickering between Republicans and Democrats.

That almost became the fate of this year's proposal. Democratic leaders attached the provision to the $120 billion Iraq war spending bill, which was vetoed by the GOP-controlled White House on May 1 because Democrats insisted on a pullout date for American troops.

But with the House passing a rewritten bill 280-142 and the Senate 80-14, the end is likely near for the longest stretch without the federal pay floor rising since the minimum wage was established in 1938.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., called the increase one of “the proudest achievements of this new Congress.”

“We've overcome many obstacles — and faced every procedural trick in the book — to get this minimum wage increase across the finish line,” Kennedy said. “Democrats stood together, and stood firm, to say that no one who works hard for a living should have to live in poverty.”

President Bush announced earlier this year that he supported an increase in the minimum wage.

“We pushed for and very much prefer that it be paired with appropriate offsets for small businesses who would be disproportionately impacted by the minimum-wage increase,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. “Unfortunately, the offsets in this bill don't accomplish that.”

This would be the first change since the minimum wage went from $4.75 to $5.15 on Sept. 1, 1997, under former President Clinton and a Republican-controlled Congress.

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Click here for the Labor Department’s map of state minimum wages.

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The liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute, a research group in Washington, estimates that 5.6 million workers — or 4 percent of the work force — earn less than $7.25.

“This is a great day for America's middle class,” said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “America's workers have been waiting for a raise for a long time.”

Currently, a person working 40 hours per week at the current minimum wage of $5.15 makes about $10,700 a year. An increase to $7.25 would boost that to just over $15,000 a year.

The full increase, according to Miller, is enough to pay for 15 months of groceries for a family of three.

More than two dozen states and the District of Columbia already have minimum wages higher than the federal level. Minimum wage workers are typically young, single and female and are often black or Hispanic.

Raising the minimum wage was a key part of Democrats' midterm election platform. To help make it palatable for Republicans, they added $4.84 billion in tax relief for small businesses to help them hire new workers and offset any cost associated with an increase in the minimum wage.

Republicans had complained earlier that the tax cuts in the House and Senate bills that led up to the final agreement were insufficient, but the inclusion of the provisions in the Iraq war spending bill made it difficult for them to stop them.

“From a small-business standpoint, the House bill was a peanut shell, the Senate bill was peanuts, and the conference agreement is a single shriveled peanut. It is a missed opportunity,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

According to the National Restaurant Association, the last minimum wage increase cost the restaurant industry more than 146,000 jobs and restaurant owners put off plans to hire an additional 106,000 employees.

“A minimum-wage increase will cost our industry jobs, and the vital discussion of how to minimize this job loss is getting lost in the debate,” said Peter Kilgore, the group's acting interim president and chief executive officer.

[nielsdartfam]

Raising the minimum wage isn?t as great a thing as everyone thinks?It has a negative impact on the economy and will throw off the equilibrium wage and equilibrium quantity of labor and?oh hell with it, this guy explains it a heck of a lot better than me: http://www.mindreign.com/en/mindshare/Global-Economics/Minimum-Wage/sl35291137bp509cpp10pn1.html just and interesting theory most people should consider before supporting a raise in minimum waige

[realpatriot1]

CarlyLaine,

You don't understand capitalism or socialism. Capitalism bases production upon private investment and profit taking. Socialism bases production upon state ownership and control of the means of production. Minimum wage workers aren't owned by either and what you call socialism in no way involves governemnt ownership of capital assets.

Conservatives like to throw around the world as an insult without even understanding what it means.

[homespunlady]

So much of REAL American life and traditions has evaporated. Respect for mothers, concern for children, fathers that took responsibility rather than desert when a "better Model" came along.
Companies that stood by their employees and voluntarily paid a fair wage for labor.
The days that a CEO earned maybe 5 to 40 times his employees Not 300 or more times as many do now.
A government that broke up monopolies rather than hand them even more power.
Presidents that actually believed in the Constitution rather than referring to it as a "G*D D****D Piece of Paper".
GREED and corporate irresponsibility will be the downfall of this nation.

From Wiki's description of Fascism:
Benito Mussolini claimed to have been the founder of fascism. Italian fascism (in Italian, fascismo) was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under Mussolini's leadership. Fascism in Italy combined elements of corporatism, totalitarianism, nationalism, militarism, and anti-Communism. Fascism won support as an alternative to the unpopular Liberalism of the time. It also won support of Italians who were anti socialist.

Why does this description sound SO FAMILIAR THE LAST 6 YEARS????

[sclaires]

I wonder now how much the prices are going to go up because of a 70 cent per hour in the minimum wage. It is bad enough now to pay for everything you need and it looks as though GWB isn't going to do anything to help the retired and disabled. And those are the ones who have the most limited income as it is. It appears that GWB doesn't give a d*mn about us, the retired and disabled. I would like to see him live on what I get a month and have to pay medical and dental expenses on top of all the other expense. But, of course he is too good to do that!!

[forthepeopl1]

JULY 21 2007 IS WHEN AMERICANS WILL BE FREE AGAIN

EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO HELP WITH THIS SHOULD BE TALKING TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND TELLING THEM THAT AMERICANS ARE READY TO TAKE WASHINGTON ON AND ITS NOT A FEW AMERICANS ITMILLIONS OF AMERICANS THAT WILL TAKE BACK THERE COUNTRY..

I AM WILLING TO GIVE MY BLOOD FOR ALL AMERICANS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK TO WHAT OUR FORFATHERS WANTED.

AM A VET AND AM READY TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AMERICAN BOYCOT/COOP IF WE THE PEOPLE DONT DO THIS NOW WE WILL BE GIVENING UP ON OUR CONSTITUTION AND WHAT ALL OUR VET HAVE DIED FOR..

DAVID A BELANGER,VET US ARMY,[e-mail]

ok so wants to join in on this great american REVOLUTION


they cant kill millions of americans at once so if we charge them all at once we will win and take them out and hang them all..

just like in the old days of the west...hang them from the trees in front of the whitehouse and see how many start telling the truth about what they have done to all us americans..


if the american NOW dont stand up and start a NATIONAL REVOUTION ON THIS WASHINGTON BULL S/H/I/T/ THEN we as TRUE AMERICANS can say nothing!!!

its time to take all this *** and take our government back now..

they are the ones that started this and we will finnish it now..we the people will take our country back and everyone in washington can sit there and thinks we the people are ok with what they are doing..go ahead and let them think that we are comming to take them out

[bobnjersey]

[There are many things I do not understand, but I do know what I believe is CAPITALISM from all that I've read and listened to. Socialism is not the way to go. ]
[Posted by CarlyLaine at 02:47 PM : May 25, 2007]

i think this is the problem. you're posts reflect a ideaological 'purist' view of one or the other ... something is ALL capitalist or ALL socialist. the world isn't like that ... there's endless shades of gray between extremes.

you're purist view is inpracticle and unworkable ... and it would likely be that way regardless of what ideology you claimed (capitalist, socialist, communist). (ex: is china capitalist or communist?)

there is no such thing as pure capitalism ... unless you're reading an ann rand 'novel'.


[When PILGRIMS came across the Atlantic to find a better place socialism was the norm. Later, the colonies decided to allow ... That was simple capitalism. It worked.]

the us economy is just on a slightly different scale than the pilgrams and colonies.

[carlylaine]

ttinsly

You fail to see what socialists are doing and have done to us. All you have to do is look at what Pelosi and Reid are doing (naming only a few),.

bobnjersey
I understand the subsidizing of crops. That has been going on for some time.

There are many things I do not understand, but I do know what I believe is CAPITALISM from all that I've read and listened to. Socialism is not the way to go. Telling businesses (large and small) they HAVE to pay more per hour for low paying jobs is not capitalism. It is socialism.

When PILGRIMS came across the Atlantic to find a better place socialism was the norm. Later, the colonies decided to allow people to grow as much, raise as much food as they wanted. The Thanksgiving feast was because of the ABUNDANCE of food, finally, because prior to that the people were starving to death.

That was simple capitalism. It worked.

[r9119111]

The gov. can work horribly especially if it is not accountable to people that its policies affect and if it receives no input from them democratically on the local level. But sometimes, the market is not the best solution to everything either.
Posted by ttinsly at 02:34 PM : May 25, 2007

Thank you.

[nottellin1]

Let's think about that. Can you see in a few centuries a class of private owners with robot workers and the vast majority of the population unable to make money and not buying the goods you produce?

Then at least we would not need all the uneducated guest workers that our lovely senate insists that we need. (that won't make minimum wage anyway and whats up with that)

[carlylaine]

ttinsly

We all started out in low paying jobs. Most people want to move on and do. We want to feel good about ourselves. But it is not the role of government to be our financial stablizer.

[bobnjersey]

[The government is NOT our SAVIOR, not our daddy, not our nursemaid ... WE AREN'T SOCIALISTs, we are CAPITALISTs]
[Posted by CarlyLaine at 12:02 PM : May 25, 2007]

here's a good free market (no socialism allowed) example that touches every person in the us every day ... corn farmers almost exclusively grow their whole crop w/ a cost (their cost to grow it) greater than the market price (price when they harvest it). if they fall short in their return (they lost money) ... they grow more corn the next year to make up the difference.

with me so far?

the federal govt will subsidize the price difference between the market price (commodity market) and a controlled price (higher) to provide the farmers some protection from the commodity market dynamics.

now keep in mind that corn ... and it's many direct and indirect derivatives ... touches nearly every corner of the industrialized food market.

how free market capitalist is this?

the next free market lesson will be the medical industry.

[nottellin1]

What kills me about this new law is that they had to stuff it in the Iraq funding bill to get the Prez to sign it. If anything needs to change in our government, besides the people representing us, we need to add term limits and all amendments to a bill should actually have something to do with the purpose of the bill.

[carlylaine]

ttinsly

We have socialism now because of socialists who HATE what the United States stands for. FREE ENTERPRISE.

I am not advocating the US take back the social programs we have now. It would be too much. Cutting back-yes. Not increasing minimum wage is the right thing to do.

Read what ditkaca wrote. It is correct.

[carlylaine]

ditkaca

THANK YOU.

[r9119111]

CarlyLaine:

Did you ever have to live in a burned out building because you had no other place to go?

[carlylaine]

r9119111

I have lost everything I owned. Judge me now. I lost a family, all of my belongings.

I didn't ask the government to give me money. I worked hard and went to school.

I didn't cry and whine. I got minimum wage jobs and I made it. And I am proud of myself.

I still have nothing and I'm working hard, without government assistance.

JUDGE ME!

[carlylaine]

ezillyamused

I wasn't saying that you are not trying to work good things in your life for you and your children-there are lots of social programs. I understand how hard this is for you. There are many social programs that assist women in your situation. But also there are scholarships from philanthropic organizations. You could make more money; apply for these.

I had a friend who was on WELFARE. She is a very intelligent woman with three kids. She didn't go on WELFARE at all. She applied for scholarships constantly and got every one for which she applied. And she was able to keep her kids in luxury and herself.

I had to struggle when I went to college. It wasn't easy for me. I didn't mean to denigrate you or your position or your struggle. Keep going you'll make it.

This is about minimum wage. The socialists are wrong to force EVERY BUSINESS to do this. IT's flat wrong in a capitalist society. We are not socialists.

[r9119111]

CarlyLaine:

What a compassionate heart you were born with! I hope you don't ever lose everythin you own. You won't be able to handle it. Spoiled brat!

[perception5]

Does everyone remember CBS (Censoring Broadcasting Station) plastering all the anti-Bush poll numbers at the top of their website the last two days....... here's one that should be there today......69% of Americans APPROVE of the Iraq funding measure approved last night in Congress. Can any liberal out there today explain WHY is poll number isn't in the headlines ( I looking for some good excuses)Check it out:

"Take a look at yesterday's CBS News/New York Times poll. Yes, 63% of those surveyed (including 81% of Dems and 61% of Independents) said the United States should set a "timeline for withdrawal" in 2008.

But the following question asked whether Congress should block all funding of the troops, allow funding for the troops without conditions, or pursue a middle course that allows funding on the condition that the United States "sets benchmarks for progress and the Iraqi government are meeting those goals" - which is exactly what last night's bill did. Phrased that way, 69% of those surveyed were in favor of funding with benchmarks (including 73% of Democrats and 69% of Independents).

Look at it another way. Clinton, Obama, and Dodd just placed themselves on the short end of an 80-14 vote. "

How much more corrupt can we get? Don't you love America's "Free Left-Wing Press"?

[ezillyamused]

Maybe someone could tell me exactly in what stone it is written that it's okay for less than 1% of the population to control 60% of the money? Now I paid attention in Civics class and Economics, but I must have been absent the day that this was discussed.