Minimum
wage voted down, CEOs saved from higher
pay
Patrick
Creaven
Chief
Executive Officers of fast food corporations,
restaurant chains and retail stores breathed
a big sigh of relief Wednesday.
The United States Senate voted down a proposal to raise the national minimum
wage, which has been stuck at a measly $5.15 since 1997.
So, CEOs don’t worry, you’re still legally allowed to exploit the
drive-thru food consultant, the bus boy and the retail clerk working for you.
Congratulations.
According to William Even and David Macpherson in “Rising Above the Minimum
Wage,” 7.1 million workers would have been affected by the proposed $2.10
increase to the minimum wage.
One would think, that in an election year, giving a millions of people a raise
might be way good to win some votes. Then again, for some politicians, making
sure their political funders are happy is more important than making sure poor
people can buy a gallon of milk.
The vote for the increase received 52 votes in favor, but needed 60 to pass.
All 46 votes against the proposal came from Republicans.
“I am opposed to [an increase in the minimum wage], and I think a vast
majority of our [rank and file] is opposed to it,” House Majority Leader
John Boehner, R-Ohio, said to the New York Times.
Boehner’s right. Although minimum wage workers aren’t part of the
Republican “rank and file,” it doesn’t mean the so called “compassionate
conservatives” shouldn’t put a couple more dollars in the pockets
of the less fortunate.
It is a moral outrage that America, by far one of the richest country the world
has ever seen, has millions of people who work multiple jobs and still live
below the poverty line. Then, when these hard working Americans look to their
elected government representatives for relief, politicians provide no help.
Nine times, since 1997, proposals for a minimum wage increases have reached
the Senate, and nine times the Senate has rejected them.
So for all you minimum worker out there, you’re just going to have suck
it up and continue to work those 12 hour days. I know it sucks, but look on
the bright side, at least your boss is happy.
Patrick Creaven is a senior journalism major and the sports editor of the
Daily Forty-Niner.
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