So here's the question the Republican Congress will put before the Senate:
"Over seven million Americans can have a raise of $2.15 an hour by raising the minimum wage, but only if we give a tax cut to 7,500 ultra-rich people at a cost of $753 billion dollars."
Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist has said that this will be the only vote he will allow on a minimum wage increase this year.
Here are some simple facts that can't be ignored:
* Someone working full-time for the $5.15 federal minimum wage makes just $10,700 a year. A single mom with two kids who works full-time for the minimum wage is about $6,000 below the poverty line.
* The federal minimum wage has been stuck at the same rate since1997. Since then, Republican leaders have raised the salaries of Senators seven times. Salaries of lawmakers have gone up by $35,000 -- almost three times the entire yearly income of someone on minimum wage.
Raising the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour adds up to more than one year of groceries, over 9 months of rent, a year and a half of heat and electricity, or full tuition for a community college degree.
2006-08-03
23:54:44
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10 answers
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asked by
norsktjej1964
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Civic Participation