I didn’t vote for any of the above for a couple of reasons.

A Federal Minimum Wage is only meaningful to an individual relative to his cost of living. A few years ago I read that a “living wage” in Hawaii was around 4 to 5 times what was needed in the lowest state.

To talk in terms of a “Federal Minimum Wage” is hypocritical as long as we continue to allow employers to hire illegal alien workers at rates substantially lower. The congress has decided to dodge this issue until after November (not a surprise).  Congress, while favoring the export of middle class jobs, continues to accept raises for themselves. (They’ve finished off the low end already.)

In my dreams I see congress receiving pay and benefits based on the average (not median) of their constituency.

Wake me in time for the revolution. :-)

Why isn’t it tied to the rate of inflation?

These dollar amounts are meaningless when the value of the dollar is changeable, and has recently lost about 50% of its value relative to Euros and other currencies.

Simplistic arguments like this poll do not help, and do not reflect a serious movement for a fair economy.  I would file it under “distraction” and utterly forgettable.

ITT should know better.

Crimes of the State

johndoraemi,

No, not tied to inflation — it hasn’t been raised in ten years.  It appears to be loosely tied to elections. “If elected, I will…”

Even people working for more than minimum have actually been losing purchasing power for quite some time. In addition many have lost benefits. The unions have been as useless as most politicians.

Senator Byron Dorgan is an exception. (see article on this site)

It’s a rate loosely tied to a ‘let them eat cake’ equation….

How low can you keep the minimum wage while simultaneously increasing all other costs ( and consequent profits to all other industries)? At what point does equilibrium get lost, and people turn to theft or welfare in order to achieve survival ? How fat can the cat on one side of the teeter totter get before the mass of scrawny subsistence workers overwhelm the imbalance ? And at what point does it make ‘good economic sense’ to share a tiny portion of the wealth?

Hey, those factory workers in Asia are unlikely to be able to afford an Audi or a Saab, but at what point can they purchase a Ford Escort or Windstar? And where can we locate the next McDonald’s?

Sheesh…..

I voted for $17+.  If the minimum wage is such a good anit-poverty policy we should raise it to $100.00.  Then everyone will be at the very least upper middle class.  And to keep up with inflation it should be doubled every year.

I voted 9-12, but believe that however horrible this might sound, “new legislation” should state that only certain types of jobs should be allowed to pay min. wage, all others should pay more. Jobs that are mainly filled by students, part-time workers ... all industrial jobs, etc should be required to pay a much higher wage, more in tune with their CEO’s, a more curved pay scale not one that resembles a newly formed mountain.

Here’s your $7.00 Whopper sir! Want a $5.00 bag of fries with that?

and how much do make per hour, big boy?

Yesterday my wife and I had two small icecream cones. We paid $2.45 for them. In the 1940s they were called “nickle cones.” (A nickle is that coin which almost has Jefferson’s head on it.)

I’m currently reading “The American Home Front” by Alistair Cooke. (Written in 1942, but published last year.) He noted that Boeing was paying $0.65/hr and the west coast ship yards $0.95/hr.

I fully expect to live to see a $7.00 Whopper — quite soon.

in nov. 2004 I was making approx. $50,000 per year, then some childhood “friend”(?) who had been arboring anger over who knows what turns me into the NSA. Now I have nothing, my home, my land, even my constitutional rights, my right to vote, my right to work, my right of free association, my right to legal counsel ... all my rights have been stripped ... maybe one day you can read my book, if they don’t kill me.

Actually, eyesoftheworld, I am self-employed, running a business with my with here in rural Hawaii. Believe me, there are times when I would be happy if we were making minimum wage (and benefits). But then, that’s the price of independence, self-reliance and a deep-seated aversion to sucking the tit. And you?

First, I apologize for getting slightly off the subject. I too was once self-employed, then found a very well paying job with very good benefits. But now, as I mentioned above, the NSA and illegal medical research has forced me all but on the streets, I was forced to leave my home, my land ... but god bless them, they are giving me disabilty for post traumatic stress ... I guess guilt got to some of them ... but for now, all I can do is pray that this will end soon. As for Min. Wage, I am in Kentucky, and most of the at one time min. wage jobs actually pay more, business owners realize that a person on their own can’t survive if their entire paycheck goes to getting to work and having something to eat while they are there. Kentucky is a very poverty stricken state, with too many with too little education. They are trapped, so to speak. Sometimes, a person may be better off with very little, but everyone deserves the opportunity to develop their talents, to education and to be able to buy proper foods, clothing and provide shelther for themselves and those who depend on them.

... I remember going to the store as a kid with .25 being completely satisfied with my purchases. And I wasn’t around in the 40’s.