Congress should do TWO things immediately

[AntiWarPoster]

Pass legislation to raise the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour and index it to inflation.

Cut the student loan rates to 3.5%.

[MGD]

1. I think that's basically what they're planning to do actually.

[dchill]

2. Yeah,

I have two kids in college, too. ;)

[AntiWarPoster]

5. i'm actually in college

and looking at law school

the rates on federal loans are ridiculous

[dchill]

33. Hang in there...

I don't think that will last too much longer.

[inthebrain]

3. That's not enough

$10.00 needs to be the starting point. Except we need to pitch higher at thirteen.

$7.50 doesn't help anyone. At least those in the Northeast. Ideally it should be placed at 15-16 here. just to rent a studio you are talking at least $1000 a month.

I am of the thinking that the minumum wage needs to be set at such a rate where we can establish a national economy.

[AntiWarPoster]

4. an increase of that much at one time will probably cause job losses

the jobs that still exist will be higher paying, but there will likely be less of them.

[inthebrain]

8. No it wont

Look at the wealth distribution in this country. Also look at the fact that everything has gone to the service industry.

Adjusting the minimum wage from 30 years ago has it at about $9 an hour in todays dollars. An increase of that magnitude is going to help small busnesses in the long run. That's where consumers will spend their cash as the service in local stores tend to be much higher than at the big box stores.

[AntiWarPoster]

10. $9 an hour I can see, $15 an hour I cannot

see as beneficial overall

[inthebrain]

11. I said pitch high

Realisticly, 15 dollars isnt that far fetched though. In this economy, that's not a lot of money. Raising the min wage any short of $10 is hardly noticable. Given corporate profits I'd call 10 an extremely conservative rate.

[AusGail]

13. I agree whole-heartedly with you

$7.50 an hour is slave labor. How can anyone survive on that. In a country as wealthy as the US there should not be working poor.

[MGD]

14. I'm paying $550/mo for a pretty sweet 2 story 3 br/1.5bath w/ attached garage & useable basement

in Ohio. $1000 a month would rent two houses here. I would move if I were you.

[purduejake]

15. And how many jobs are in your area?

I'd love to move to a smaller town, but I'd have to change careers!

[MGD]

17. Well, we're all hoping that our newly elected Democratic Governor, Ted Strickland fixes that problem

[kestrel91316]

16. LOL. $550 might get you a small room for rent here..................

[inthebrain]

18. That's the cowards way out

What are you going to do when they decide to gentrify your area?

Move?

That costs money as well.

[MGD]

21. Hmmm, this area is gentrified actually.

That being said, your point is not entirely invalid; however, I don't consider it cowardly to move to a location with a lower cost of living, I consider it adaptative. A coyote is often considered cowardly but highly adaptative whereas the wolf is undeniably a brave animal but is notoriously niche-specific. Which species is doing better?

[inthebrain]

24. You makin Minimum wage?

I'm certain that given you live in a gentrified area it's folks like me you'd LOOOOOOVE to see move somewhere else.

Unfortunatly this crap isn't going to play well tonight. For years this party has made promises that if it got into office, and gained a majority, it was going to make a difference. You're not going to get away with backing out now.

Our candidates have barely been sworn in and many of you folks have become overnight supply siders. If this party doesn't do the right thing it's going to be out on their asses again and the left is going to ditch it.

Wanna go back to that?

[MGD]

25. Huh? Whatchutalkinboutinthebrain?

I voted for a minimum wage increase in Ohio and I'm fucking ecstatic that it passed.

Unfortunatly this crap isn't going to play well tonight. For years this party has made promises that if it got into office, and gained a majority, it was going to make a difference. You're not going to get away with backing out now....Our candidates have barely been sworn in and many of you folks have become overnight supply siders.

What do you want us to do, round up the gentry and confiscate their property? I'm sure we will to some extent actually but it won't be overnight. Get a grip.

[Hippo_Tron]

19. We unfortunately can't increase too much at once because it hurts businesses

If we'd made the law about adjusting for inflation in the 1990s then there would be no problem with hurting businesses if we raise it. We need to increase it in increments and set the inflation rule. Ideally it should be about $9 an hour but in the states where it's still $5.15 an hour, increasing it to $9 an hour right away would cause stagflation.

[inthebrain]

22. What businees would be hurt?

Wal Mart?

Exxon Mobil?

GE?

GM?

Hotels?

Last I checked these folks have been cleaning house in terms of profits. Small family owned and community based businesses benefit the most from a generous minumum wage increase. Take a look at corporate profits over the last twenty years.

A generous increase will shift the wealth. In many instances it puts that money back into the community.

[Hippo_Tron]

26. I agree with you 100%, except that we should raise it a huge amount immediately

And I support raising the minimum wage to living wage level over a period of a few years. But in simple economic terms if you increase the price of something like labor a huge amount, prices will soar and unemployment will as well. Small businesses in states where the minimum wage is $5.15 an hour will suffer if we instantly raise it to $9.00 or $10.00 an hour. If we do it over a period of a few years (which we SHOULD have been doing all along by adjusting it for inflation) then we won't have these problems.

One of our top priorities definitely needs to be turning the minimum wage into a living wage. But drastic changes in policy like this do effect the economy and we need to be mindful of that. If we write the legislation so that it increases over a period of a few years, then we won't have any problems. IMO, I think that the OP is right in that raising it to $7.50 should be the starting point and then we should go from there.

[inthebrain]

29. The business community has their party

Let them make that argument and judge it on it's merits.

Given the economic circumstances $10.00 an hour isn't a lot. It doesn't mean it kicks in as soon as it's passed either. As for the business owner, they've threatened labor with job losses everytime it's come up and it's never happened. They always cry wolf over this.

I think we've allowed them a little too much on this issue. Besides, more people will spend that money in local businesses and it will more likely than not rejuvinate Main St. I think consumers are sick of shopping at box stores and eating at chain resteraunts. That's where the bulk of the wages wil come from.

[Hippo_Tron]

30. I'm not arguing from the business perspective, I'm arguing from what I know about economics

Increasing to $10 an hour would be a drastic increase and it's unprecedented that we increase it so much at once. But I think that we basically agree on this, despite the minor differences. The key is when you said "it doesn't mean it kicks in as soon as it's passed". I think that we should write the law that will ultimately get it up to $9 or $10 an hour and autmoatically adjust for inflation, but just not so that we will be increasing it immediately.

[inthebrain]

31. It usually kicks in in the next fiscal year

I really don't see it as a drastic increase. That's I think where we differ. It is where the rate should be at without the needed increase had the business community acted with some degree of ethics over the years. Realisticly, they've paired down labor so drasticly over the years I don't see many negative effects from the increase.

Who else can they lay off?

I also have come to the conclusion than any business person hurt by it, should be hurt by it. They are crappy business people if they are not paying payng at least that much. At least in this area.

We've long surpassed that rate pretty much in the whole northeast. Not to mention the entire eastern sea board. Good business people would be smart to ride out the storm from any aggregate effects. That money is going to wind up in their pockets as 9-10 does leave much for saving. Someone with a rent of 500 a month is still going to struggle at that rate.

Take into consideration suburban areas where they need a car and gas as well.

[Hippo_Tron]

32. It's a matter of perspective, you're from Boston I'm from Louisiana

In the south we have some of the lowest minimum wage laws in the country and especially in Louisiana, our economy is not nearly as prosperous as the economies of states in the northeast. This is a result, in my opinion, of years and years of bad policy especially in education.

In the northeast increasing the minimum wage to $10 isn't that huge but in the south where it's still at the federal minimum (hell in Louisiana it's still $4.75 but that's negated due to the federal law), it would be a shock for small businesses. I agree that we need to get to that level and I agree that ultimately businesses will thrive because people on the lower end of the spectrum instead of the rich hoarding it all in overseas bank accounts.

The minimum wage should be at $10 an hour and businesses should be used to paying that but years of bad policy on the federal level as well as on the state level in many states has prevented this from happening. Thus I think that while some states would be able to adjust to a $10 minimum wage instantly, in other states economic activity would significantly decrease in the sort run and that's not good for anyone.

I want to see the minimum wage up to $10 ASAP but I just don't feel that raising it to that overnight is practical for certain states.

[inthebrain]

35. In the south you also have corporations

Making huge profit margins at the expense of labor. What about the folks pinching pennies to make ends meet while all the wealth they create for small business owners is ripped out of their pockets?

Havent they waited long enough?

[LiberalFighter]

6. Keep in mind that Bush can still veto and Congress is not veto-proof

They will have to create legislation that Republicans and Bush will be too embarrassed to oppose.

[AntiWarPoster]

7. Bush won't veto a minimum wage increase

it would hurt the republicans really badly if he did. and a senate won't filibuster it!

[Zangal]

28. agreed

If Bush vetos anything remotely popular, Dems win the pres in '08.

[inthebrain]

12. Hold them to their votes

Keep in mind that we just won in some very red states. Those folks live in some very poor communities and those communities have been bled dry by some staunch right wing corporations.

As a matter of fact, the business community hasn't exaclty held themselve to very high ethical standard when it comes to paying workers over the last couple of decades. They are due for a little bruising via a generous minumum wage increase.

Let those folks know that voting Democrat makes a difference in their lives.

[lutherj]

9. And come to the rescue for New Orleans. n/t

[Cafe Americano]

20. What does the business owner say?

Can they do it with small business support?

[AntiWarPoster]

27. You mean what does the freeper say?

nt

[AtomicKitten]

23. That's Nancy's plan

as well implementing the 9/11 Commission recommendations and negotiating Medicare drug prices.

[Zhade]

34. The second part of the first is CRITICAL.

It MUST be indexed to inflation, or it's an empty, insulting gesture.