They even refuse to raise the puny minimum wage

[ailsagirl]

Is there no END to their mean-spiritedness???

Bush, Congress nix minimum wage hike, push tough bankruptcy bill

WASHINGTON—As the administration heralds its victories in bringing democracy to the Middle East, President Bush at home is pushing more business incentives at the expense of regular working people. The vaunted economic recovery has turned out to be pretty lame, with the labor market continuing to be weak. Oil prices are off the charts and real incomes are headed down.

Set against this background, Congress this week ditched efforts to raise the minimum wage. Republicans in Congress successfully wrecked Senator Ted Kennedy's bill to raise the minimum wage by $2 to $7.25 by a 49-46 vote.That is 14 short of the needed number to pass.

The minimum wage hasn't been increased since 1996.

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0511,webmondo1,61967,6.html

[aquart]

1. Evil little buggers.

[Hardrada]

2. They are not scared of us anymore.

They think we are sufficiently weakened that they can get away with anything. They may be mistaken.

[ailsagirl]

6. They ARE mistaken. One of these days, this ongoing

pressure cooker is going to explode. I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet.

[Hardrada]

7. Perhaps you are right.

Interestingly, the pressure is affecting the right wingers first and they are already snapping in murderous individual acts. I think if the suffering classes finally have had enough, (this is most evryone in the country) there will be an enormous explosion on the left. Especially with the bankruptcy legislation , the corporate greedheads and their bipartisan cronies are leaving no one with hope for the future, nowhere to turn and a desperate sense that something has to give, to change for the better.

[ailsagirl]

8. It sounds ominous to me... whatever the bottom line is

All these draconian tactics they've been pummeling us with for the last four years are quite deliberate-- that is, they have been utilized to bring about a desired effect.

And there's where I always freeze because I don't dare speculate about what that desired effect is/will be. It's too, too frightening.

[Hardrada]

9. They are only interested in the economic short-term gains

and are not thinking about social consequences per se. These are people who have been grabbing the goodies but can't escape with them because the doors are locked and their victims not far behind. We must energize some of the burgeoning resentment into the political contests in 2006.

[ailsagirl]

10. Yes-- we must. But IMO, number one priority is

election reform. Right now, it's so corrupt that I fear it won't matter who we vote for-- they have it rigged so that they will win from now on-- every time.

[Hardrada]

11. I think Howard Dean should make a big issue of honest votecounting.

I think the Kerry campaign and the earlier DNC people did not pay this enough attention.

[ailsagirl]

12. I agree-- just found out that Dean IS cognizant of election fraud

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x342244

That's encouraging!!

[pdurod1]

3. That bill was loaded if I remember earlier posts

overall made the rethugs look bad.

[NVMojo]

4. that makes too much sense! This administration doesn't do sensible

things ....

[Sugarbleus]

5. But $500+billion is going to the Pentagon via next budget?????

Hmm, let's see. Offshore companies, outsource jobs to cheaper labor markets, throw desparate single mothers off welfare into low wage jobs, bring illegal immigrants in so they too can work for slave wages, kill the minimum wage increase, kill bankruptcy, kill workman's comp to a severe degree, TRY to kill Social Security so we work until we die at the assembly line, Screw up medicare and medicaid and increase other health plans, kill overtime pay, increase the cost of housing and decrease the subsidized housing programs....

REPEAT AFTER ME: Cheap Labor aka Servitude aka NeoFascism