It was the classic tug-of-war struggle between Republicans and Democrats, the representatives of the haves and the have nots. And when both sides let go of the rope, minimum wage earners in this country ended up in the dirt. Again.Only it wasn’t a game – other than a political one – and the working poor must continue to try and eke out a living on what others more fortunate would classify as pocket change.
Congress failed to pass a minimum wage increase for workers earning a mere $5.15 per hour that would put their pay at $7.25 per hour over the next three years.
It traditionally had been a Democratic issue, but this version was tied to a Republican push to extend the repeal of the estate tax on the wealthiest of Americans.
Republicans could pay lip service that they tried to help poor workers, and in helping defeat the estate tax measure, Democrats undid the proposed minimum wage hike.
It has been 10 years since the minimum wage was last increased. Since that time, Congress has upped its own salary by $31,000 a year.
It ought to follow that if the cost of living increased for Congress during that time, it probably increased for the fast food worker at the local eatery, too.
But this Congress didn’t see fit to apply that logic. Instead, Republicans put the momentum behind extending the repeal of the estate tax, which wasn’t due to expire until 2010. Their reasoning is based on a trickle down effect from businesses that benefit from these kinds of tax relief measures that may or may not ever help the ‘little guy.’
And they oppose minimum wage increases because they foolishly fear that it will hurt business.
According to Bloomberg News, in a Wells Fargo-Gallup poll taken in March, that just isn’t so. The poll revealed that 46 percent of small-business owners said the minimum wage should be increased, and 86 percent said the wage had no effect on them.
Democrats who were battling the kind of excess put forward in repealing a tax years early ensured the death of any hope of an increase in the minimum wage. And the game was over.
It’s the kind of game expected in Washington, where lawmakers seem to lose sight of ever trying to level the playing field for those who need it most.
Keeping the minimum wage at $5.15 an hour for a decade while touting a tax break for the rich is unconscionable.
To everyday Americans trying to put food on the table and raise a family, it’s more than a game. It’s real life.
They understand it all too well. Wouldn’t it be nice if their voice in Washington did, too?
