Birmingham Raises Minimum Wage and Alabama Takes it Away

[jpak]

Source: NBC News

Birmingham, Alabama, raised the city's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour on Tuesday. Two days later, the state took it away.

Alabama passed a bill Thursday, largely along party lines, that bars cities and counties from raising the minimum wage or requiring employers to provide leave or other benefits. Because the law applies retroactively, it wipes out Birmingham's raise.

Republican legislative leaders fast-tracked the bill in order to pass it before Birmingham's raise was set to take effect March 1. The GOP enjoys super-majorities in both houses. Within an hour or so of the bill's passage, Gov. Robert Bentley (R) announced he had signed it.

"Alabama is a poor state. But I say we are poor by choice, because of bills like this that keep people poor," State Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D) said as the measure was being debated.

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Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/birmingham-raises-minimum-wage-alabama-takes-it-away-n526806

[-none]

1. Missouri did the same thing.

Kansas City raised the minimum wage and the state overruled them.

[saturnsring]

2. your poor by choice cause you vote gop - elections have consequences - too bad about your

raise - maybe at some point it'll get through your thick dumb skulls

[malthaussen]

3. The law applies retroactively?

Neat trick, that.

I guess Birmingham should secede from Alabama, then.

-- Mal

[old guy]

4. Wi. is doing the same thing.

They are taking power from the counties and towns and concentrating it at the state level.

[lordsummerisle]

5. Thought for a second it was a headline from The Onion n/t

[padfun]

6. Well, you get what you vote for

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. The Republican party is so entrenched here that there are few Dem candidates anymore. n/t

[keithbvadu2]

7. Republicans, the party of big gov't

unwilling to let local gov'ts run their own affairs.

[turner52]

9. Idaho

Idaho just did the same thing also.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

10. These are the people that Hillary is using.

The dumb is strong in the red states.

[Cryptoad]

11. just make it up as ya type,,,,geeez

no gopers in AL be voting for HRC

[SoLeftIAmRight]

12. WTF do you know about Alabama?

...

[trof]

16. I know Cryptoad is right. Born and raised in 'Bama.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

17. Been there done that.

Please tell me some of your thoughts about the population.

I was raised in Huntsville - a big step above the rest of the state. A nice healthy percent of the people were not lost. But still, by the time I was 15 I was asking my family why are we staying in this wasteland. There is a whole world out there and some are very different.

I know that the Bama dems are few that at there cores are as left as I like.

[trof]

18. The Democrats slowly became repug with Brown vs Board of education.

It took a generation, and Nixon's "Southern Strategy".
The "Solid South" was solid Democratic until Brown.
The same old ignorant racists are still in control of the state house, but now they're repugs.

Put a 'negro' in the White House and you just poured gasoline on the fire.

[Ilsa]

13. "But, you know, abortion, and communism"

How about reversing the wage hike just for the idiots that vote republican?

[elljay]

14. Way to go Alabama!

Gotta make sure those poor people can't afford to have enough food to eat. Your dream of becoming the worst place in America is within your grasp.

[romanic]

15. That's pathetic.

Southern republicans are the scum of an already scummy bunch.

[Le Taz Hot]

19. Alabama . . .

another Super Tuesday state so, they get to speak for the rest of us. Yay.