Minimum Wage Battle May Wound Republicans

[babylonsister]

http://www.rollcall.com/news/minimum_wage_battle_may_wound_republicans-222434-1.html?pos=htmbtxt

Minimum Wage Battle May Wound Republicans

By Steven T. Dennis
Roll Call Staff
Feb. 13, 2013, 7:27 p.m.


snip//

Boehner said many people are earning minimum wage because they have no skills, and if their jobs go away, it’ll be harder for them to gain skills.

But Democrats and the White House quickly jumped on the comments.

“If the GOP is opposed to raising the minimum wage, what is their plan to ensure people who work full time don’t live in poverty?” Obama senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer tweeted.

“The simple fact is that millions of hardworking American families are being squeezed while they watch Republicans protect tax breaks for CEOs to get even richer,” said Emily Bittner, spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “In this country, we believe that anyone who works hard shouldn’t also have to struggle to pay their rent, their utilities or their grocery bills — but tea party House Republicans and Speaker Boehner seem to care more about millionaires than hardworking families.”

snip//

But the issue comes down to fundamentally different views of how government should intervene in the economy — with Obama enacting new health care mandates on businesses and now pushing higher wages, and the GOP arguing that growth will come when the government gets out of the way.

It’s one thing to make that argument in a talk at a conservative think tank, but it’s another to use it to win over public opinion. Republicans believe that they can do that this time around with stats at their back and say they aren’t sweating the issue; Democrats are equally sure that they’ll have public opinion firmly on their side.

more...

http://www.rollcall.com/news/minimum_wage_battle_may_wound_republicans-222434-1.html?pos=htmbtxt

[Xipe Totec]

1. fundamentally different views

Whether we have government of the people, by the people, for the people,

or whether we have government of the plutarchs, by the plutarchs, for the plutarchs.

[babylonsister]

2. I can only hope the general

population will pay some kind of attention to this, since it will potentially impact so many. At least they should be informed who does and doesn't have their best interests at heart.

[NewJeffCT]

3. This has been proven to be a winner for Democrats

didn't Rachel Maddow do an extensive segment on this a few years back? A bill to increase a state's minimum wage would help turn out Democratic voters in that state.