Senate Democrats Consider Raising Their Minimum Wage Proposal To $12

[applegrove]

Senate Democrats Consider Raising Their Minimum Wage Proposal To $12

by Dave Jamieson at the Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/17/democrats-minimum-wage_n_6888610.html?1426624003

"SNIP................


WASHINGTON -- Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate's labor committee, has been reaching out to her Democratic colleagues to rally support for a more ambitious minimum wage proposal, according to a Senate source familiar with the conversations.

Murray's idea: hike the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, rather than the current $10.10 proposal languishing in Congress. The wage floor would then be tied to an inflation index so that it rose with the cost of living.

"Right now the conversations are focused on building support for that [$12] number and gaining consensus," said the source, adding that Murray brought up the idea with several colleagues during a caucus lunch on Tuesday.

The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. The proposal Murray is floating would bump it to $8 in 2016, then a dollar each year thereafter until it hit $12 in 2020.



................SNIP"

[PowerToThePeople]

1. Kick & Rec for one of my Senators. n/t

[Politicalboi]

2. Why not $15 or $20

And it won't happen till 2020. WTF? $15.00 is low compared to what it really should be. $400.00 a week after taxes is NOT enough still.

[philosslayer]

3. Even for a high school student working an after school job?

I'm not sure $20/hr would be practical in that case.

[applegrove]

4. I agree. $15 is more like it.

[PowerToThePeople]

5. Some 4 year degree jobs do not even pay 15/hour

A high school kid mowing lawns for extra cash is not work 15/hour imo.

Once we start talking about minimum wages in the 15$/hour and up range we really need to be talking about pure socialism- a system where every citizen makes the same for same worked hours, regardless of position held.

[applegrove]

6. I'm not with you on the pure socialism. I think it has been proven again and again that for creating

jobs, a middle class and wealth, capitalism works best. Socialism does a terrible job of allocating resources too. I have not looked into minimum wage in detail. But $7.25/hr is criminal.

[PowerToThePeople]

7. raising minimun wage does not raise wages for anyone higher

in the wage scale. All it does is add to the pool of minimum or near minimum wage employees and low wage jobs. We are heading to a 2 class system very fast where every working person is minimum wage and the ruling class is wealthy. Minimum wage increases just make it more pronounced.

Myself, I would much prefer a socialist system over a feudal system where there are lords and serfs and no one in the middle.

[Travis_0004]

8. why would we pay everybody the same?

If everybody makes the same money why would anybody seek a promotion. Why deal with the extra stress?

Why go to law school when you can make the same money working an entry level job?

[PowerToThePeople]

9. Because you want to

People would be more motivated to follow their desires and skills without the need to sellout for money. You would have not have any financial concerns to worry about.

Hopefully we would have less lawyers.