Federal Minimum Wage: Congress Debates Need Long Overdue Time to Act Now

 

Since 1968 now 53 years & long overdue

(Annual income wrong direction)

Federal Minimum Wage debate from the Washington Post in part:

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), says: “The notion that we have people working for $7.25 an hour, which is the current federal minimum wage, is egregious in the context of all the wealth that exists in this country.”

I note: That wealth is in a hands of only a few very wealthy families where the current minimum or no wage workers helped them accrue their wealthy – a well-known fact.

The Federal minimum wage is now set at $7.25 ever since 2009 (12 years ago). Also refer to the chart above ... the rich got richer and the rest - well, you figure it out...

The CoVID-19 relief bill, which is Biden’s first major legislative initiative, is looking unlikely to receive any Republican support.

House Republican leaders slammed it as a “$1.9 trillion liberal wish-list filled with extraneous provisions such as the minimum wage increase and a bailout to blue states such as California.”

FYI: The nonpartisan CBO estimated recently that raising the Federal minimum wage to $15.00 an hour by 2025 would cost 1.4 million jobs, and it increase the deficit by $54 billion over 10 years, but it also would lift 900,000 people out of poverty.

I also note: If you follow the news then you’ll see and hear that the only people at or below the poverty level (getting “free stuff” are DEMS), right? 

Yep, don’t believe me, then just ask the nearest hardline Republican.

Related the state minimum wage chart can be seen here (U.S. DOL page). FYI: 16 states rates are the same or lower than the current Federal level; 5 states have no minimum wage; and, 29 state wages are above the established Federal level (My state, NYS minimum is now $12.50 per hour - what about your state?). 

My 2 cents: Now in this terrible pandemic and economic downturn, it is the right time to raise the Federal minimum to $15.00 across all levels. But, I suspect some states will still follow their own rules.

We are about to find out as Congress moves through the debate phase.

Thanks for stopping by.