Fuckers are Afoot
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives voted on Saturday to give some of the lowest-paid American workers their first raise in nearly a decade, while also handing a big tax cut to some of the wealthiest.
The House in the early hours voted 230-180 to raise the $5.15-per-hour minimum wage in three 70-cent steps until it reaches $7.25 in mid-2009.
During a bitter floor debate, Rep. Phil English, a Pennsylvania Republican, said most Democrats' opposition to the bill showed "they've always liked the politics of the minimum wage and cared little for the policy of the minimum wage."
But Democrats shot back that Republicans had staged an election-year stunt to get a minimum wage vote knowing the Senate won't go along because of opposition there to the estate tax cut. And some senators are opposed to any minimum wage hike.
Before this election year, Rep. George Miller (news, bio, voting record), a California Democrat said, "You never raised a finger to help these individuals" getting paid the minimum wage.
Coming shortly before the House was to start a five-week summer break that will give members time to campaign for re-election, the legislation also would cut estate taxes, derided by Republicans as a "death tax," and extend several other popular tax cuts. Its estimated cost was about $310 billion over 10 years.
The package is likely to be debated next week in the Senate, where its fate was unclear. Efforts to roll back estate taxes failed in the Senate in June. Such a cut is a high priority for Republican leaders ahead of the November congressional elections when Democrats hope to make big gains.
REPEATED REJECTION
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada noted the Senate has "rejected fiscally irresponsible estate tax giveaways before and will reject them again."
The estate tax cut is estimated to help less than 1 percent of American families at a time of skyrocketing federal debt.
"Workers at the lowest end of the scale are being held hostage to 7,500 families," said Rep. Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record) of Maryland, the second-ranking Democrat in the House, who wanted a minimum wage increase bill without the estate tax cut.
Those 7,500 families are the number of wealthy families that would benefit from the estate tax cut. By contrast, some seven million workers would benefit from the increase in the minimum wage.
Republicans argue cutting estate taxes helps small businesses and farmers.
....The whole story
What small businesses and farmers have estates worth over $5 million? None that I know... What bullshit.
Hmm... seems to me that Karl Rove is at work here. Attach tax-cut amendments to the minimum wage raise so the Democrats will vote against it... Hmm... mighty fishy of the republicans to change their tune so quickly. Headlines will read "Democrats Vote Against Minimum Wage."
What good is it to raise our wage, but give the money back to the CEO's that own us with tax breaks? Raising the minimum wage on the backs of THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR MINIMUM WAGE!
We need a living wage. If congress and the CEO's that own it can have annual cost of living adjustments, why can't we?
Sign the petition and send hate mail to this guy. Be sure to remind him what happens to disrespectful yankees.
The House in the early hours voted 230-180 to raise the $5.15-per-hour minimum wage in three 70-cent steps until it reaches $7.25 in mid-2009.
During a bitter floor debate, Rep. Phil English, a Pennsylvania Republican, said most Democrats' opposition to the bill showed "they've always liked the politics of the minimum wage and cared little for the policy of the minimum wage."
But Democrats shot back that Republicans had staged an election-year stunt to get a minimum wage vote knowing the Senate won't go along because of opposition there to the estate tax cut. And some senators are opposed to any minimum wage hike.
Before this election year, Rep. George Miller (news, bio, voting record), a California Democrat said, "You never raised a finger to help these individuals" getting paid the minimum wage.
Coming shortly before the House was to start a five-week summer break that will give members time to campaign for re-election, the legislation also would cut estate taxes, derided by Republicans as a "death tax," and extend several other popular tax cuts. Its estimated cost was about $310 billion over 10 years.
The package is likely to be debated next week in the Senate, where its fate was unclear. Efforts to roll back estate taxes failed in the Senate in June. Such a cut is a high priority for Republican leaders ahead of the November congressional elections when Democrats hope to make big gains.
REPEATED REJECTION
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada noted the Senate has "rejected fiscally irresponsible estate tax giveaways before and will reject them again."
The estate tax cut is estimated to help less than 1 percent of American families at a time of skyrocketing federal debt.
"Workers at the lowest end of the scale are being held hostage to 7,500 families," said Rep. Steny Hoyer (news, bio, voting record) of Maryland, the second-ranking Democrat in the House, who wanted a minimum wage increase bill without the estate tax cut.
Those 7,500 families are the number of wealthy families that would benefit from the estate tax cut. By contrast, some seven million workers would benefit from the increase in the minimum wage.
Republicans argue cutting estate taxes helps small businesses and farmers.
....The whole story
What small businesses and farmers have estates worth over $5 million? None that I know... What bullshit.
Hmm... seems to me that Karl Rove is at work here. Attach tax-cut amendments to the minimum wage raise so the Democrats will vote against it... Hmm... mighty fishy of the republicans to change their tune so quickly. Headlines will read "Democrats Vote Against Minimum Wage."
What good is it to raise our wage, but give the money back to the CEO's that own us with tax breaks? Raising the minimum wage on the backs of THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR MINIMUM WAGE!
We need a living wage. If congress and the CEO's that own it can have annual cost of living adjustments, why can't we?
Sign the petition and send hate mail to this guy. Be sure to remind him what happens to disrespectful yankees.
posted by Casey Wade Norman at 8:53 AM
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