This past week in the in the Senate, while everyone was fixated on the indictment of Libby, a vote took place which reminded me of a scene from a Mel Brooks movie. That movie of course was History of the World Part I, and the scene was during the Roman era and the Senate was in session deciding what to do with revenues. The choice was, “Shall we continue to build palace after palace for the rich, or give to the needy and the poor”, where by then the Senate stood up in unison and said in a most vulgar manner “F*ck the poor!”
Well, I doubt any Senators stood up and said exactly that, but one could certainly envision them doing it. In a 51 to 49 vote, the Senate decided against raising the minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.25 for the working stiffs.
Now I am not one of those people who think that raising the minimum wage is going to be the answer to a growing financial crisis, but there has not been an increase to the minimum wage since 1997. Meanwhile, during that same period of time, the Senate had no problem giving themselves several pay raises that amounted to about 28,000 dollars a year.
For the fifth straight year, the poverty level in America has risen and it looks like this year, the blue collar folks will just have to suck it up again. To those 37 million Americans who are below the poverty level, I guess look on the bright side, the price of gas dropped .04 cents this past week; Exxon must be a little guilty.
Considering what Senators do, their salary of $162,100 dollars and all those wonderful perks that ride along with it, are not really too outrageous. On the other side of that coin, not raising the basic minimum wage so that it at least keeps up with the cost of living in over eight years is outrageous.
Just keep that in mind, people, as the mid term elections roll around.
Ed:LisaM
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Nancy
I say what I've said before: congress should be stripped of the elitist perks - the cradle to grave, top-of-the-line medical care for themselves & family for the rest of their lives - even after they've left office; the special, specially generous, lifetime guarantee of hefty retirement & taxpayer-funded insurances for them & their family members - even after they've left office; and all the rest we common scum don't know about. They should have to life on medicare, regular, commercial insurance, & social security like the rest of us. They should also not be allowed to give themselves raises; this at least should be confined to happening every election, and should be a referendum item for the public to decide. Most of these maggots are independently wealthy to begin with; they hardly need to feed at the public trough for survival. Hell - they should be paying US for the privilege of serving.
2 - steve
congress deserves special treatment; no matter what party they belong to. They worked hard to achieve their status as a congressman/woman. They are politically motivated and knowledgeable. They are the leaders of our nation.
I dont understand why people believe they should be treated differently. They dedicate their lives to better the american public. If people of congress do not deserve benefits...then other civil servants like firemen and policemen do not deserve benefits either; not to mention any other state or federal worker.
3 - Nancy
You can't have it both ways, Steve: either they deserve special treatment, or they should not be treated differently.
I said exactly that: they should get the SAME benefits as every other public servant; not the special 'gimmies' that they've carved out for themselves over the years.
The only thing they work hard at is raising money for re-elections & self aggrandizement. Far too many of them are ignorant & stupid as well as overweeningly greedy & venal; and most of them are so lacking in ethics if any person on the street displayed such lack of standards, he'd be shunned and/or locked up, to wit, Ms. Hutchinson's recent comment that perjury is only a weeny, insignificant, non-criminal, little problem.
4 - Preston Parkhurst
< They worked hard to achieve their status as a congressman/woman. They are politically motivated and knowledgeable. They are the leaders of our nation.>
Well some do work hard and some, well, don't. As to them being knowledgeable, well just because they were voted into office does not neccessarily make them knowledgeable, it only means they best presented themselves.
From Plato; as paraphrased by William Durant
"Mob-rule is a rough sea for the ship of state to ride; every wind of oratory stirs up the waters and deflects the course. The upshot of such a democracy is tyranny or autocracy; the crowd so loves flattery, it is so "hungry for honey," that at last the wiliest and most unscrupulous flatterer, calling himself the "protector of the people" rises to supreme power."
5 - Maurice
I worked for minimum wage when I was a kid. None of my 5 kids have had to work for minimum wage and I believe it is pretty hard to find a job that pays minimum these days. Go ahead and raise it as long as you acknowledge the consequences of lost jobs.
It doesn't matter to me if you raise it just like it doesn't affect the congress members either. Maybe they know something that you aren't considering...?
6 - Preston Parkhurst
The following was a post to my blog:
"In 1990 the GAO said that the minimum wage (which hadn't changed since Reagan took power in 1981) needed to rise to $6.05/hr in order to account for the decade of inflation. In 1996 the congresscritters voted to raise the minimum to $6.60/hr over five years. After the first step, to $5.15/hr, took place in 1997 Gingrich managed to curtail the subsequent steps. In short, the minimum wage has been adjusted once in 24 years, to bring it up to where it should have been in 1986."
7 - Maurice
Why do you thing some people would not want to raise the minimum wage?
Perhaps a better question: Should the minimum wage be abolished?
8 - gonzo marx
ya gotta love this particular canard...
"lost jobs" my ass....puh-leeEEEEEeeeeezzze
we will tie this one in to Rome, since the original Article invoked it, and the parallel is most striking...
one of the major problems Rome had was the use of slave labor....the Patrician class had no need to hire Free Men when it was much cheaper to just buy a few slaves...this lead to a shrinking middle class that gradually became ever more poor rather than stable or even upwardly mobile fiscally...
compare that to Now...a stagnant minimum wage added to the Hordes of illegal immigrants working for far less than a legal Citizen would...
the common Argument is that they are taking jobs no American wants...true in some cases, agriculture for instance, but that is partially a factor of the minimum wage isn't it?
and definately NOT true in manufacturing and building industries...the current common thought is why hire a carpenter at $12-$25 and hour(depending on where you live), and have to have him covered by insurance, pay taxes and SS, etc...when you can stop at a corner and pick up 3 illegal mexicans for $5 an hour each, pay no taxes or insurance and pocket the savings?
this all works to hold the Price of Labor artificially low...good for "business"....bad for workers , and in the Opinion of your humble Narrator....bad for America on many levels
your mileage may vary
Excelsior!
9 - Preston Parkhurst
< we will tie this one in to Rome, since the original Article invoked it, and the parallel is most striking >
(chuckle) Comedic parody, well guess at some level that is true.
10 - Alethinos
First - EXCELLENT post Gonzo! Very to-the-point. I am sick of the corporate bastards stating that "jobs will be lost!" at every mention of a livable wage. They've been shipping jobs overseas for over 40 years! If you follow Wall Street's logic, they'd have us all back to wages at the turn of the last century. Their idea of being competative would be for American workers to be as dirt poor as our 3rd world friends.
Of course by Wall Street's logic other abominations include: health insurance for workers, a 40 hr work week, safe working environment, ANY regulation that favors workers at all.
It is truly a bizarre, nearly psychotic outlook. Two-thirds of the US economy is driven by RETAIL. Indeed the WORLD'S economy is dependent on the US consumer. If workers, union and otherwise hadn't fought tooth and nail for better working conditions - where would this glorious economy be - the one that keeps the WALL STREET JOURNAL in newstands every morning?
Damn fools...
Alethinos
11 - Dave Nalle
Do you guys have any idea how meaningless the federal minimum wage is? Raising it or not raising it to $6.25 an hour does absolutely nothing for anyone. No one earns minimum wage except waiters and waitresses who actually earn lower than minimum but also get tips. You might want to spend some time actually looking into what various jobs pay rather than engaging in further uninformed moaning about the plight of the poor.
Dave
12 - Alethinos
Dave... You REEEEAALLLLYYY should get out more. There are MILLIONS of people that make minimum wage. I work in an industry that hires people at minimum wage... True, states can have a HIGHER wage and Oregon is the 2nd highest in the nation - fortunately. But let me tell ya - you can't feed a family on $7.25 an hour EITHER...
Alethinos
13 - Dave Nalle
According to the BLS there is virtually no one who works at minimum wage, unless you call $7.25 an hour minimum wage. Even illegal aliens working as unskilled labor on construction sites earn more than minimum wage. And as for living on $7.25 an hour, you absolutely can. I have and I know others who have and all it takes is some self-discipline. If you have a family and are earning $7.25 an hour and have a single income, then I'll agree you're facing a challenge. That would be a textbook example of the unfortunate circumstances which result in the existence of WIC and AFDC. The minimum wage, or a real starting wage like $7.25 an hour was never intended to support a family and shouldn't be expected to support a family. That's a wage designed for an entry level worker, somoene just entering the job market, and those people should not have children. A failing of our society is that they sometimes do. This is why we have support programs for them.
Dave
14 - Dave Nalle
And BTW, I can feed a family of four 3 healthy and varied meals a day for $150 a month and have money left over - don't worry, I don't actually spend that little on a regular basis, but I've done it just to prove it can be done. Yet I see folks at the grocery store using their Lonestar Cards (Texas version of WIC) to buy luxury food items and junk food and healthy but needlessly expensive items all the time.
Dave
15 - troll
the US government is ineffectual in curbing the excesses of capitalists...what the non-rich need is a thriving black market for goods and services based on 'in kind' payment rather than (government owned) dollars - and some class consciousness
"We want our revolution...NOW"
troll
16 - Maurice
Here is a quote from Robert Reich:
Obviously there is a price at which if the minimum wage were increased the cost of labor would be too much and therefore you would suffer job loss.
Dave is right about virtually nobody working for minimum wage. My daughter just took a job at the $1 store at $11 per hour.
17 - Nancy
Dave, please detail how you can feed a family of 4 for $150 or less per month. I need to cut my bills, so for me it would only be +/- $35/month, right? What am I living on, rice & beans? Does your economic plan include hunting your own if you want meat, or perhaps shoplifting?
I live in MD/DC; I can guarantee you, with fish over $7/lb, most meats @ $4-7/lb, & cheese over $4.50/lb for the bulk stuff, the ONLY things anyone is going to be eating are rice & beans. Even veggies would be minimal, at that rate, considering current prices, even for bulk frozen.
18 - steve
I don't feel bad for anyone working on minimum wage. First off, no one actually DOES. each state has their own minimum wage in which they adhere to. Here in Connecticut; I think we are at 7.10 now, perhaps more. Im curious to see a statistic regarding how many states may use the federal minimum wage as their standard.
secondly, having a minimum wage motivates someone to better their life. who would want to work on minimum wage? I know if I was working on minimum wage, I surely would feel like a worthless human being. I would ask myself how I got into this tough patch, and how I can get myself out. how could I become more qualified, etc. etc.
19 - Maurice
Good call Steve. I feel that way about my 23 year old daugher that dropped out of school and is satisfied with making $11/hr. at her crappy job. How can I motivate her to go back to college when she knows she can make a decent wage without having to go to school?
20 - RedTard
Ooh! Let's just raise the minimum wage to $5,150.00/hour, then everybody will be rich, right?
Inflation has not kicked in in recent years and neither has the minimum wage. Could there be some connection there?
21 - Dave Nalle
>>Dave, please detail how you can feed a family of 4 for $150 or less per month. I need to cut my bills, so for me it would only be +/- $35/month, right? What am I living on, rice & beans? Does your economic plan include hunting your own if you want meat, or perhaps shoplifting?<<
I certainly endorse hunting your own meat, but not shoplifting.
Anyway, consider these foods:
PB&J
16oz of generic peanut butter - $1. 16 oz of generic grape jelly $1.50. Two loaves of basic white bread bread $2.50. That's $5 for about 20 sandwiches. Personally I'd splurge the extra $1 and get honey instead of jelly for the health benefits. These sandwiches have protein and carbs and are fairly healthy and they cost 25 cents each.
Hotdogs
Bought with care in large packages hotdogs are about 20 cents each for 4 ounces of meat. Buns run about another 20 cents each. I'd call two hotdogs the main element of a meal, combined with some fruit.
Pasta Dishes
Pasta with meat sauce runs about 75 cents per person for a meal.
Seasonal Fresh Fruit
You have to buy the fruit that are seasonal for that time of the year. 5 Apples for $1 is pretty typical. You're not going to be buying any kinds of berries or exotic fruit, but apples, bananas, melons and grapes will all be cheap enough to include. When nothing is seasonal, applesauce and some canned fruit are damned cheap.
Cabbage
Costs almost nothing and it's good for you.
Potatoes
Got to have carbs in your diet and anything that's 5lbs for a $2 on sale can't be beat.
Frozen Turkey
On sale in the holiday season it can be as low as 29 cents a pound. It helps a lot to have a freezer to store them in for a long time. And a single turkey can provide a hell of a lot of food if used efficiently. Ever had turkey soup with cabbage and potatoes? It costs almost nothing and it's delicious and good for you. A frozen turkey provides enough meat to feed a family of 4 for at least 3 meals off the meat and another 3 meals or so from the soup.
Oatmeal
The real kind. It runs less than $1 for about 20 servings. About double that with milk and sugar.
Generic Cereal
Not as cheap as oatmeal, but still less than 25 cents a serving including milk.
Water
It's what you drink. It's good for you. It's free.
Beans
Good, but use them relatively sparingly. They cost almost nothing.
Rice
Also incredibly cheap. Less than 20 cents a serving. But relatively empty carb calories, so only as a side dish.
Soup
Leftover vegetables and meat and bones get cooked up to make broth for gravies, sauces and soups.
Typical day for an Adult Male:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with Milk and Apple Slices - 30 cents/200 calories
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich, potato chips, fresh fruit - 80 cents/600 calories
Dinner: 2 hotdogs w/ buns and a light soup, plus seasonal salad - $1/600 calories
That's 1400 calories a day at a cost of $2.10 per person, and this is far from the cheapest possible combination of meals. It's nutritionally balanced and meets minimum caloric requirements. For a woman the calories and cost would be about 20% less. For a child the calories and cost would be reduced depending on the age. All told, for a family of 4 we're talking something like $5-$6 a day and this is at the high end of the cost range. That adds up to about $150 a month.
>>I live in MD/DC; I can guarantee you, with fish over $7/lb, most meats @ $4-7/lb, & cheese over $4.50/lb for the bulk stuff, the ONLY things anyone is going to be eating are rice & beans. Even veggies would be minimal, at that rate, considering current prices, even for bulk frozen.<<
You live in one of the highest consumer cost areas in the country. I've lived there too. But even in DC I bet I could shop around and find everything I needed at a fairly reasonable price. You've still got WalMart and SuperTarget out in the suburbs.
Dave
22 - Maurice
Oddly enough I have been on the Dave Nalle diet since the start of this year and went from 205 lbs. to 180 lbs. I am 6'2'' and could carry the extra weight but it hurt my tennis game.
23 - Nancy
LOL - yeah, but you've got to spend $10 in gas to drive to them - and that's NOT with a gas-guzzling car; they're fewer around here than you think.
24 - Preston Parkhurst
< I can feed a family of four 3 healthy and varied meals a day for $150 a month and have money left over >
Well Dave, I happen to be a minimalist in nearly every sense of the word. Even living in a manner that most people might consider stark or simple, I can pull off your diet for myself and maybe one other, but even then it would have to be tightly managed. Just so happens that I am an avid hunter and do supplement my diet with real food. However I doubt most American can do this realistically.
Minimum wage was not meant to a level that people were to subsist upon in the long term; I believe it was intended to be a basic wage for those just entering the job market, or those who were in the process of changing job class. This very meager wage is a survival wage not a living wage and even then it falls short.
That being said, I shall proceed to tick folks off. Personally, I see our country as one of lazy gluttons, as family size has shrank, yet houses have increased in size by 38% since 1980. There are more registered cars than there are drivers now, and people are shoveling in levels of food in their gullet that would make King Henry the 8th jealous. This is the level at which the majority of this country is at, not minimum wage. Being that economic cycles don�t always run like clocks, when the day comes that the cycle tanks out, I suspect there will be many more from the latter crying that minimum wage is insufficient.
25 - Dave Nalle
Keep in mind I didn't say that I would actually feed my family of 4 on $150 a month if I was earning an entry level wage, I just threw that number out as about the minimum you could feed a family of four on.
I worked out a budget a while ago for living on a salary of $7 an hour, and $150 is what I allocated for food for one person in a month in that budget. For a family of 4 I'd allocate at least $250, and that extra $100 would seriously upgrade the quality and variety of the meals.
One thing I've noticed - and this is born out statistically - is that the poor as a rule don't really know how to shop. They buy the wrong foods in small quantities at the wrong kinds of stores and tend to pay more than they have to, often by enormous amounts.
Dave