I mean my opinion obviously doesn’t matter very much at all. Regardless of what I think, if the progressives winds up being the reason that people lose their covid relief, they will completely die as a political movement.
Why don’t they just pass a minimum wage bill as standalone legislation? Put it to the vote and stop letting the rest of the Covid package being held up for senatorial procedures.
Because it won’t pass. “Why not?”, you ask:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/politics/kyrsten-sinema-joe-manchin-biden/index.html
Stranger
There’s a value for a higher min wage that Manchin and Sinema would support - maybe even some Republicans. To start with, find that value and bring it to the floor.
The problem is that the 10 Republicans needed to support it just isn’t going to happen.
I don’t understand why a Democrat from a poor state like West Virginia doesn’t support a $15 minimum wage.
Because all of the business interests that fund Manchin don’t want it and would stop backing him if he supported it. It is a mistake to think that democracy is just about the electorate; people are going to vote for one lizard or another, and the game is to be the lizard with the best advertising campaign backed by the most money. Occasionally that backfires, but generally the candidate with the most backing wins regardless of objective qualities. And in the case of Manchin, it is certainly him or someone even worse.
I don’t resent Manchin for standing his ground if he genuinely believes that what he is doing is for the overall best of his state (and there are tradeoffs on raising the minimum wage; it will impact small businesses disproportionately), but he is otherwise a mediocre legislator who rarely seems to use his leverage to do any real good for either West Virginia or the nation at large. It is frustrating that he and Sinema are the lynchpins for success of the Biden-Harris administration, especially at a point in history in which it is crucial that it succeed on numerous fronts, but that is the reality of the world.
Stranger
Which brings up a notable point. A $15 minimum wage means one thing in Telluride, and a completely different thing in Tupelo. The CoL is not flat from coast to coast. It might make sense to establish some kind of standard that accounts for the variations in what it takes to get by.
Of course, UBI would obviate the need for a minimum wage, but the same unevenness arises, making it difficult to just throw a number at it.
Well, Biden has suffered his first major nominee casualty as Neera Tanden has withdrawn her nomination as OMB Director. Once Manchin announced he was opposed, she was dead in the water. No Republican wanted to be known as the Republican who saved a Biden nominee.
I don’t really have an opinion of Tanden one way or the other, but this won’t really matter much. Every administration has a couple of nominations that unexpectedly blow up in their face – remember that Bill Clinton had two AG nominees taken down over employing undocumented nannies before he got Janet Reno through. And apparently Biden’s going to give her a senior non-confirmation job in the White House, which is what he should have done in the first place anyway.
Yup. And what responsible politicians do is find another nominee that’s more acceptable, not just sabotage the position with some kind of indefinitely appointed “acting” substitute.
I understand, but it seems voters would be smart enough to vote for a candidate who supports a higher wage at the next election.
“Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”
― George Carlin
Stranger
Hehe. The Good Old Days, when that was a career-destroying crime. Sigh.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Not if they think it’s going to close down their local grocery store. (Or, of course, if they themselves hire anybody at all, including to plow out the drive, and think they can’t afford to raise wages.)
Note: I don’t expect it would close down their local grocery store. But people opposed to the increase are likely to put out a lot of publicity saying that it will. And the people who run the grocery may believe that it will.
I don’t think it’s a matter of stupidity. I think it’s a matter of different opinions about the likely consequences.
Hoping it’s just the minumum wage that building freaks Mansion and Cinema will be thorns in the sides for.
Sigh.
https://www.axios.com/covid-relief-bill-republicans-d20db5f3-0d84-4bfe-93ae-5e10b7edfbfe.html
Republicans are demanding a full, 600-page bill reading — and painful, multi-hour “vote-a-rama” — as Democrats forge ahead with their plan to pass President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.
Why it matters: The procedural war is aimed at forcing Democrats to defend several parts the GOP considers unnecessary and partisan. While the process won’t substantially impact the final version of the mammoth bill, it’ll provide plenty of ammunition for future campaign messaging.
The timetable is uncertain, but the clock likely won’t start ticking until Thursday, and final passage may not come until this weekend.
What to expect: The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation must send their cost “score” of the legislation to the Senate, which is expected Thursday. The chamber will then begin 20 hours of debate.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told a radio station in his state he plans to force the clerk to read the 600- to 700-page bill.
That would likely tack another 10 hours to the 20 hours allotted for debate, Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters.
Along the way, the GOP will offer amendments both related and unrelated to the legislation, requiring a string of uncomfortable votes for Democrats.
…
any, and all senators who call for the bill to be read, should have to be seated, quiet, and listen to the people reading it. no electronics, no distractions, small targeted breaks.
this is just utterly ridiculous.
Conversely - too bad Dems didn’t suggest this for the 2017 Tax Cut bill, which would’ve (most likely) elicited an indignant, pant-load-y response from the 'pubs.
Seems only fair to me!
I would think they would go over every bill.