Minimum Wage Offer Interests Democrats (smart move I believe

[wakeme2008]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Minimum-Wage.html

January 5, 2007
Minimum Wage Offer Interests Democrats
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:49 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats, eager to accomplish one of their biggest legislative priorities, said Friday they are willing to accept new tax breaks for small businesses that are being demanded by Republicans as part of an increase in the minimum wage.

''If it takes adding small business tax cuts to have a minimum wage increase, then we'll do that,'' new Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said emerging from a private meeting of Senate Democrats in the Library of Congress.

The Senate strategy would differ from the House approach, where Democrats are pushing through a minimum wage increase next week without any extra provisions. The proposal would raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour over about two years. The last increase in the minimum wage was in 1997.

Adding tax cuts to the package in the Senate would attract necessary Republican votes. With 49 Democrats and two Democratic-leaning independents, Democrats hold a thin 51-49 voting advantage in the Senate. But it takes 60 votes to overcome procedural maneuvers for blocking bills.

..more at link...

Because they worked with Repugs.. Bush has NO excuse for a Veto..

[Sherman A1]

1. Gotta do, what ya gotta do

it is about compromise. Sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you get half a loaf... I'm not too keen on tax breaks for small business (depending upon what they define as small business in those tax breaks) but the minimum wage needs to go up desperately!

[MidwestTransplant]

2. How would Republican senators have the guts to block a min. wage increase?

It's different when they are in the minority because it suppressed from coming up but once it has been proposed they will have a tough record to run on.

[damntexdem]

14. Dubya certainly could veto it.

The only bill he has vetoed so far was passed with GOP votes -- when the GOP controlled both houses.

[VegasWolf]

3. Does this mean that the Pizza kings that spend millions each year buying

out Republicans are now spending some of those millions on Democrats?

[Fresh_Start]

4. tax cut should be a percentage of the increase wage expense

so that taxes are cut for the businesses exposed to the minimum wage increase. Better than a cut, a tax credit directly calculated from the wage exp.

[theoldman]

5. I know several people who own a small business and they

did not get a tax break when the rich people got theirs. Perhaps things will come out even with the higher wages resulting in greater taxes paid. Hopefully someone in Congress is good at math.

[Rose Siding]

6. Sometimes when repubs say "small business" it doesn't really mean small

[MidwestTransplant]

15. Exactly. Under 500 employees is considered "small business"

[phantom power]

7. Why are we already talking about "compromise?"

I don't recall a single instance of the GOP compromising with the Dems while they were in the minority.

[Freddie Stubbs]

20. Because Democrats only have 50 votes in the Senate, and it takes

60 votes to pass a bill and 67 votes to override a veto.

[Warren Stupidity]

25. No it takes 51 votes.

And we have 51 votes. We probably have closer to the 60 votes required to cut off debate, cloture, which is what I think you meant. It is very difficult to vote against a raise in the minimum wage, especially in those red states where lots of folks who vote Republican actually make minimum wage. This is why the theofascist party always refused to let this bill get to the floor: they don't want to go on the record as voting against it.

[Freddie Stubbs]

26. Senator Johnson will probably not be voting anytime soon

For the time being, there are 50 Democrats and 49 Republicans. That means that Democrats will have to have get ten Republcians to cross party line to pass a bill and 17 Republicans to override a veto.

[Warren Stupidity]

27. Once again you are misstating the situation.

A simple majority is required for passage. You keep referring to cloture as the votes required to pass a bill, it isn't.

Once again: the Republicans do not want to go on the record agains the minimum wage. They certainly do not want to fillibuster a vote on this legislation and they sure as heck don't want the bill vetoed in the white house. That is why they are desperately trying to find a face saving compromise. I say screw 'em. First press the issue and make them squirm. My guess is that they won't fillibuster, the bill will pass, and Dumbass will not veto it.


Call their damn bluff.

[krispos42]

31. Bingo! You get a brownie point! n/t

[Orangepeel]

8. I don't think that repubs would filibuster the minimum wage

but, depending on the definition of "small business," I'd support tax breaks for them anyway. Entrepreneurs need more help to survive against large corporations.

[wakeme2008]

9. It is not the filibuster I worry about it is the Veto...

and Bush asked for tax breaks for small businesses and I am sure Reid will give small businesses a little break.

[phantom power]

10. This country cannot afford any more tax breaks. For anybody, or any reason.

We are going to be a long, long time digging out of the debt that the GOP spending orgy left us. It's so big, it may yet crash our economy some day in the near future, regardless of who controls Congress or the White House.

Any talk of "tax cuts" is just allowing the GOP to continue controlling the agenda, even as the minority party.

[Toucano]

11. Why not just pass the bill and dare Bush to veto it?

The minimum wage increase is popular with the public.

Of course, if they are actually talking about tax cuts for TRUE small businesses and not multi-national corporate tax shelters disguised as small businesses, I wouldn't object.

[phantom power]

12. Exactly. And dare the GOP to vote "no." To hell with tax cut compromises.

[Warren Stupidity]

21. Correct.

As usual we demonstrate that we do not even know how to play the game.

[Freddie Stubbs]

23. Which would you prefer?

And increase in the minimum wage combined with a tax cut for small businesses, or no minimum wage increase? Is scoring political points more important then ending poverty?

[Warren Stupidity]

28. It won't be for small businesses.

It will be yet another in a long series of corrupt giveaways to the wealthy. As pointed out here many times in this thread, when they say 'small business' they do not mean the corner store.

I don't think they have the balls to either fillibuster or veto a pure minimum wage bill. That is exactly why they are desperately trying to find a face saving compromise. Why not call their bluff? If they do this we will have many opportunities to put the increase in every piece of legislation up for consideration.

You have presented a classic false dichotomy. It is not a choice between no wage increase and yet another tax cut. It is a choice between going straight for their throat, or letting them set the agenda.

[phantom power]

34. I reject the premise. The GOP will vote if the Dems force the issue

[superconnected]

39. both, but only if the tax break is only for small businesses.

We need to foster new entrepreneurs, new companies that will employ people. The huge multinational corporations that now have more money than most countries, are killing us - literally, earth, water, air, resources destroyed instead of taking environmental measures, as well as we can't trust them as our employers. We cant trust them to stay in america if they so much have to cover a very big chunk of employees health care insurance anymore.

[POAS]

13. The devil is in the details

How will they define a "small" business? I work for a company with 200 employees in this state. A branch in another state (and incorporated there) has about 300 employees. That's 500 altogether. Is our local unit the other other one considered small? Is the combined entity small?

If they word it craftily enough Halliburton could suddenly be a "small" business.

[superconnected]

40. Yep, that's what I'm worried about.

But not giving the tax breaks to the small business, while increasing minimum wage will sink many small businesses. It would have sank mine, when I had one.

[sandyd921]

16. How about

pass the minimum wage, give a tax break to genuinely small businesses, and REPEAL the tax breaks for the uber-wealthy?

[w4rma]

17. This is a very popular bill. The GOP cannot filibuster or veto it without major long term damage to

the Republican Party. I don't see the point. And I don't trust Republican crafted "small" buisness tax breaks.

[wakeme2008]

19. It is not Congress Reid is playing chess with it's Bush

Bush has said that without tax breaks for small business he would veto it. So Reid will give him the minimum.

[Warren Stupidity]

22. Let him veto it.

Make the Republican party go on the record. Then consider a compromise.

[Freddie Stubbs]

24. Can Bush's popularity fall that much lower?

:shrug:

[w4rma]

41. I don't think Bush has reached his polling floor yet. (nt)

[xchrom]

18. what's a small business?

500 employees?

when i owned my clothing store -- with myself and a couple of employees -- i received few tax breaks of any sort.

yet contributed nicely to my city, state and federal coffers.

will they continue to ignore truly ''small businesses'' or is it the gop definitions of family, friends and CONTRIBUTORS.

[RawMaterials]

37. why make it 500 how about 100

that's what i think is small, 500 people to me is medium.

[Nevernose]

42. Depends on the industry. From the SBA:

http://www.sba.gov/services/contractingopportunities/sizestandardstopics/tableofsize/SERV_TABLE_HTML.html

So it looks like any crop production company making less than 750k, or home health care company making 12.5 million or less, or bank making 31.5 million or less.

[rocktivity]

29. This compromise is as fiscally irresponsible as it is unecessary.

Why in the world do something that's going to bring in even LESS tax revenue? We've got a deficit to close, dammit! The Dems should just say, "READ MY LIPS--NO MORE TAX BREAKS."

:mad:
rocknation

[krispos42]

30. I have a better idea

Tie the minimum wage to the annual salary of a Congressman.

Minimim wage=annual congressional salary÷20,000

That would put the minimum wage at about $8.40 an hour or so. And each time the Congresscritters get a mandatory cost-of-living adjustment, so does the minimum wage.

And no more goddamn decade of debate before it happens, either!

[Warren Stupidity]

32. Just COLA adjust it.

[SayWhatYo]

36. That's actually a pretty good idea...

It make sense too... Too bad common sense doesn't apply in this world...

[krispos42]

38. Thank you

I try :-)

[sandnsea]

33. Give them Kerry's refundable health care tax credit

That's more than fair and actually helps both the minimum wage workers and the employers. Win-win.

[creeksneakers2]

35. Whatever they do should fit into PAYGO

If they cut taxes for small business they have to raise taxes elsewhere or cut spending somewhere.

[EndElectoral]

43. BS-Smal Biz has had a tax cut for ages called inflation in the min. wage...

Just vote up or down on the min. wage, show some guts...dare GW to veto it. It'll show what he really is.