Minimum Wage Initiatives - drawing progressive voters (USA Today/May05)

[Catchawave]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-05-30-minimum-wage_x.htm

<snip>


Polls show that minimum wage increases are popular. In a Pew Research Center Poll in December, 86% supported raising the federal minimum to $6.45.

Liberal activists say they're using the minimum wage to put Republicans on the defensive. They hope to put minimum wage initiatives on the ballots next year in nine states, including Ohio, Michigan and Arizona, says Kristina Wilfore, head of the liberal Ballot Strategy Initiative Center.

"This is going to take off like wildfire," she says. "It will pull progressive voters to the polls. The way the gay marriage amendment lured conservative voters to the polls (in November) was a wake-up call for us."

<snip>

[Kipling]

1. $5.15 an hour...

That's chicken feed. As a comparison, it's about £12 in France and about $9 in Britain.

[Catchawave]

2. A kick for "drawing progressive voters to the polls"

:kick: