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Category: Minimum Wage (Equality)
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Published: Friday, 15 September 2006
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Written by PT Editors
March 1, 2006
PT talks to George Miller, U.S. Congressman from California and sponsor of H.R. 2429, a bill that would boost the federal minimum wage.
PT: At the end of the day, is the minimum wage debate actually a conflict between economic and social principles? Can it be reconciled?
Miller: When it comes to raising the minimum wage, we actually do well by doing good. It is wrong that in 2006 a person can work full-time, all year, in the richest country in the history of the world, and still not earn enough to make ends meet in even the most basic ways. That is wrong, and it is immoral. It's also bad policy. By putting more money into the pockets of people who will go out and spend it, we will boost the economy. Even Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott acknowledged as much, when he said that raising the minimum wage would actually help his business.
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Category: Minimum Wage (Equality)
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Published: Friday, 15 September 2006
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Written by PT Editors
March 1, 2006
PT talks to Darrell Issa, U.S. Congressman from California and sponsor of H.R. 3732 and H.R. 4505—two bills that would reform the federal minimum wage policy—about health care, the "American standard of life" and the challenges of a global marketplace.
PT: You've introduced legislation to reform the federal minimum wage standards. Talk a little bit about your bills, and the policy issues you had to consider in drafting them.
Issa: When we look at minimum wage, whether people agree with the given level or not, I think everyone agrees that it hasn't been modernized to deal with real revenue received by individuals. If you look at minimum wage simply as what you get on your pay stub, you forget whether or not there are other benefits like tips or health care. Someone could make $40 an hour in tips and still be subject to minimum wage—and that's really the issue.
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Category: Minimum Wage (Equality)
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Published: Friday, 15 September 2006
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Written by Rosalyn Crain
March 1, 2006
The federal minimum wage hasn't moved for nearly a decade. Is it time for a raise, or is an increase just problematic policy?
The federal minimum wage just ain't what it used to be. In fact, when you factor in inflation, it's about 30% lower than it was in 1968. Is it a sign of the times, a symptom of Tom Friedman's flattening world? Or is the flat lined growth of the minimum wage simply bad policy?
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