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The year right now is 2006. Raise you hand if you would work for 5.15. Nobody? Wrong crowd. But there are those who would, trust me. They just don’t read too much, which I don’t mind (don’t get me wrong there are plenty who can). Try to imagine living off of that, being a homeless person having to rely on that 5.15 to get back on track…. Not pretty, is it? Politicians. The word is like the vilest epitaph. That they let it get this far is insanity. That they have voted down bills due soley to partisanship is blasphemous. They have managed through this stunning failure in their social responsibility to indict the whole status quo in my opinion, most notably the partisanship they all seem to thrive on….
They give themselves raises every five years or so like clockwork. No discussion really involved, right? Yet the minimum wage has not been raised in twice that, and they are loathe to do it. Would apply poison pill legislation to the bill to kill it. Are people so easily fooled?
Then I read great news today, Minimum Wage Bill to be Voted On. Says our lawmakers might have been driven to give in and finally pass the legislation. Then they tell of the reaction of those who do not want to vote for the bill becuase it would compromise their principles. And this is the real purpose of this essay. I wonder at the integrity of those who claim, and they are not exactly a minority, that the federal government should not set work wages at all.
They ignore the responsibilities of this government when they talk like that. The rhetoric of letting chaos reign with regard to wages, chaos at the low end of the spectrum, is anti government. The whole role of government is to protect minorities with no power like the poor from being basically financially raped and abused by the powerful throughout life. Ever been to a Chinese Sweatshop? Should that type of behavior be even potentially legal?
I agree they should not set wages but I think they should set a minimum wage to prevent against abuse. Remove the minimum wage and people in poor neighborhoods and in areas with high percentages of homeless people would be open to abuse. People think a man would decide not to work for such low rates but you would be really shocked. I spent a year living on the streets and working jobs manned by other homeless guys. They are very open to getting ripped off and it is a sad thing to see.
You need to give the poor people a raise too, buddy. That is the point of minimum wage. In the time since the last minimum wage increase our Cogress has given itself more than $35, 000 in pay raises. Why do lawmakers increase their income every few years? Because of inflation, rising gas prices, etc. But some of these politicians just cannot apply that rationale to the world of the poor. I think they honestly think it does not exist. It is either that or they do not give a damn. Either option is sort of horrifying, but like with the two parties, “That’s all we’ve got.” ;)
Gas prices have multiplied six or eight times over since the last time we raised it. Maybe more. Inflation has risen at a rate that was apparently so high that politicians felt the need to give themselves not one but seven raises since (check that fact; see how many).
They are going to vote on it soon in the face of obvious political pressure over Iraq and the looming midterm elections. They will do it to gain face. Sort of makes the news bitter sweet, no? To know this is what it came to? An exchange of something rational for once like a boquet of flowers from this poor failure politican with a face that just says Will you just give me one more chance? You turn and walk away. Then he flashes the greedy, ugly face. Hands rub together devilishly. Just leave me in power….
So they will finally grit their teeth and do the good thing they did not want to do but I will not forget how long it took them to get here. How for many of them there is a disconnect in their perception of what they deserve and what the common man deserves that they themselves seem blind to. How the only thing that overcame this enough for them to vote properly was partisanship….The system was indicted a long time ago, fellas. It vomitted up a solution but its poisoned, lurching, ineffectual self still remains.
One day it will be a zoo exhibit.
PS-Just heard: they voted the increase down again. Minimum wage in over 30 states that bow to the federal remains 5.15. They did it this time by adding on “Estate Tax” entitlements that they knew would end up getting the bill voted down. Has strategy replaced open debate? Apparently it has, and apparently these rats in suits like it that way, because strategy is the only thing their minds can comprehend. I had given up on them even if they did pass this bill but they have outdone themselves once again. The Associated Press reports that, adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage is the lowest it has been in 50 years. It’s just good to know they care.
PPS-Funny how I googled the subject and almost every article on this topic of the failed bill focused on how the GOP and Democrats both thought this bill’s failure would benefit their side in the upcoming elections. Funny how they fail to help the American people and the first thing both do is spin it as them trying and the other party failing. They are more concerned with saving face for the party and not taking the blame for this system’s failure than doing anything worthy of credit. They would be ecstatic to be the lesser evil and aspire to nothing more. I guess everything is positive when you make over 100K annually with guaranteed raises every five years, no?
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