Min Wage: Since $15 an hour looks impossible in the Senate, I wonder if we could get the votes for

[Elwood P Dowd]

$12 an hour? I mention that because $12 an hour today adjusted for inflation is the equivalent to the Federal $1.60 minimum wage I made working a 1968 summer job. Had to work my way through college with full-time summer jobs and part-time jobs during the school year. That was back in the days when college was actually affordable and didn't require a huge student loan. Parents paid the tuition, and I paid for almost everything else.

The added $4.75 per hour gives an extra $190.00 a week to millions of poor Americans. Millions of workers making 8-11 bucks an hour also get a nice pay raise.

[Haggard Celine]

1. It sure is better than $7.25.

They're going to have to come to a compromise. Manchin wants $11, maybe he can be talked up to $12 or at least $11.50. Something's got to give for these workers!

[Elwood P Dowd]

3. What's sad is the year it was raised to $7.25

that wasn't even close to keeping up with inflation since the $1.60 min wage of 1968. It was over two bucks an hour short still way back then.

[Haggard Celine]

7. Yeah, it was never enough.

Now it's an insult to pay someone minimum wage. I think the only reason they keep it that low is so they won't have to pay immigrant laborers what they're worth. It's just disgusting.

[Mr.Bill]

12. It's not so much Manchin,

it's needing 60 votes to get past the filibuster. I doubt you could find ten republicans to vote for any bill regarding minimum wage, except for a bill to abolish it altogether.

[jpak]

2. $14.99

The orange turd blossoms will be flummoxed.

Yup

[Miguelito Loveless]

4. Anything less than $15

is failing to keep the promise they ran on. Remember, this is "phased in", so it won't reach $12 for FIVE years.

I would consider $12 acceptable in two circumstances:

1) The wage takes effect within 1 year.

2) It is indexed for inflation.

[LakeArenal]

8. Yes they pretend that we are dumping $15 on small business today

[everyonematters]

9. I think most people will see when it is a significant increase.

They could still bump it up if they pick up more seats in 2022. The Republicans will hit on it, but the comeback would be,"what did you do when you had a chance."

[Miguelito Loveless]

17. They were promised $15

Again, we are reneging on a core promise to a key constituency.

[everyonematters]

19. Honestly.

If they get thru this pandemic and the economy is growing at a robust level by the time of the midterms, People aren't going to worry so much about the whether the raise in the minimum wage was $11 or $15 dollars an hour. I see it more as a goal than a promise. People know you have to get it thru Congress.

[Miguelito Loveless]

20. I was around during the election

It was a promise, and was taken as a promise by people struggling on poverty wages. Failure to deliver will NOT be forgotten by those desperately trying to survive the economic reality of poverty, no matter what happens with the pandemic.

[TwilightZone]

13. Campaign promises often meet political reality.

Welcome to every political cycle ever.

Instead of complaining about broken promises and throwing up our hands, we should work toward getting whatever we can.

[Miguelito Loveless]

16. How many times are people going to accept

being sold out?

Don’t promise what you can’t, or won’t, deliver.

[betsuni]

18. "won't" deliver?

What do you mean?

[Miguelito Loveless]

21. The parliamentarian has been overruled

multiple times in the past by the GOP. The refusal of the Democratic leadership to act as the GOP has means they won’t act on it.

[StevieM]

5. I am trying the remember if any prominent Democratic politicians have proposed that in recent years.

Could a recent presidential candidate have made that proposal for a $12 per hour minimum wage? Do you think he or she was praised for proposing the largest increase in history, and one that was bigger than the $10.10 that Obama had just recently proposed? Or were they attacked as part of the establishment, and a closet Republican, who was trying to keep working people down?

Can someone help me here? Does anyone else recall anything like this taking place? I seem to remember something like this happening to a major candidate in the last few years, but I just can't place it. Who might it have been?

[doc03]

6. What makes the low minimum wage worse

most employers limit you to 28 hours. To get 40 hours you need two jobs.

[TwilightZone]

14. "most employers limit you to 28 hours"

That would be inaccurate. Full-time employment makes up 84% of all jobs and many employers require FT employees to work 30+ to qualify for FT benefits. Per the IRS, 30+ is FT for some industries, like health care.

Some companies may be limiting hours to avoid paying benefits, but they are far from "most".

Sources: https://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/2021/02/08/ft-employment-at-highest-percentage-of-total-employed

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/32-hours-legally-fulltime-11399.html

[doc03]

15. I just assumed most of them were limited to

28 hours because all the ones I know mostly retail or
fast food workers are limited to 28 hours. I know at the local mall all the housekeeping people get 28 hours except the maintenance supervisor. Many have 2 and sometimes three jobs to make enough to live on. That's Ohio with a $8.80 minimum wage. You sure can't live on $8.80 working 28 hours.

[jorgevlorgan]

10. Any wage increase combined with the proposed tax penalty provision

would be incredible to me.

[RainCaster]

11. I think $12 an hour is a good price for a senator

If that's all they want to give, let them live on it for a while.