Tuesday, June 27, 2006
GOP Blocks Raise for American Workers, Then Gives Themselves a Raise
While a majority of Democrats have been pushing for an increase in the minimum wage for American workers, Republicans in Congress are having none of it. But in a moment of brazen hypocrisy, after rufusing to raise minimum wage for American workers, they turned around and scheduled themselves a $3,300 pay raise scheduled for Jan. 1.
So let's get this straight. the minimum wage, which is currently $5.15 per hour, brings a salary of $10,700 a year for full-time workers, about $6,000 below the poverty line for a family of three. It hasn't been raised since 1997, and Democrats are proposing to raise it by 70-cent increments to a still-modest$7.25 by January 1, 2009. Not exactly an outrageous hike, considering it's been 9 years since it has been raised.
Salaries for members of Congress have risen $31,600 during the time the minimum wage has been frozen, and members of Congress enjoy an annual salary of $165,200. [A side note: The job approval rating for Congress is now in the 20's, so they're not exactly earning this pay hike.]
A move by House Democrats to attach the minimum wage to an unrelated spending bill now being debated in the House of Representatives was blocked. In turn, Democrats promised to block a congressional pay hike unless low-paid workers get their first raise in nearly a decade. Good for them.
CNN.com - Democrats vow to block pay raises until minimum wage increased - Jun 27, 2006
So let's get this straight. the minimum wage, which is currently $5.15 per hour, brings a salary of $10,700 a year for full-time workers, about $6,000 below the poverty line for a family of three. It hasn't been raised since 1997, and Democrats are proposing to raise it by 70-cent increments to a still-modest$7.25 by January 1, 2009. Not exactly an outrageous hike, considering it's been 9 years since it has been raised.
Salaries for members of Congress have risen $31,600 during the time the minimum wage has been frozen, and members of Congress enjoy an annual salary of $165,200. [A side note: The job approval rating for Congress is now in the 20's, so they're not exactly earning this pay hike.]
A move by House Democrats to attach the minimum wage to an unrelated spending bill now being debated in the House of Representatives was blocked. In turn, Democrats promised to block a congressional pay hike unless low-paid workers get their first raise in nearly a decade. Good for them.
CNN.com - Democrats vow to block pay raises until minimum wage increased - Jun 27, 2006
