A new bill to increase minimum wage is being introduced into congress, details here
The asshats in congress have tied this long overdue wage increase to several other measures including a tax cut on multi-million estate taxes. Words fail me.
On some lvl tho, I admire the republican parties balls. They know this will be seen as an election year ploy to garner votes from their working class base, but they just dont give a shit. If they did, they would have passed the same bill not more than a few months ago!! Right after they gave themselves a pay increase!!!
Hey, if employers are going to be forced at gunpoint to pay higher wages for unskilled labor, it would be nice if they were forced at gunpoint to pay a little less in taxes.
They’re trying to take away one of the trump cards the Dems will play in Nov. It’s very cynical, yes, but OTOH it’s also a popular thing to do. Most states have higher MW laws anyway, so this won’t make that much difference. Besides, the gay marriage issue is runing out of gas…
The article doesn’t give enough details about what estate tax changes the Republicans are proposing. I’ve read previous news items about attempts to raise the threshold amount that an estate must be worth before it becomes subject to federal estate taxes. I suspect that this is the same, but if anybody can find out the details, please let me know.
Inflation is a fact of life for everyone. If the minimum wage is going to go up by 40%, then it seems fair to increase the cap for untaxed estates by 40%, too.
But if it’s any more than 40%, the Democrats should extend their collective middle finger and tell the Republicans to spin on it.
Seems like a decent political move to me…though I’m unsure how the REAL economic conservatives are going to view it. Though I suppose they have no real choice anyway…they kind of have to vote Republican (or vote some 3rd party).
Dicks? Certainly. Though for myself, I’d call them ‘politicians’…which, to my mind, is actually worse.
Dicks or not, it was shrewd, and right out of the Clinton playbook, really. Steal the other guy’s idea, modify it in such a way as to mollify your base and enrage the party you’re stealing from, and serve up with a shit-eating grin. Drives your enemy hopping mad, makes them look like fools (which they are, for the most part, at least when it comes to strategy), and leaves the wealthiest contributors largely unscathed.
I personally have no problem with the wealthiest 2% of employers being forced at gunpoint to reap the immediate benefits of a reduced Estate Tax. I just never imagined it would be the Republicans who would enact such a policy.
But I do agree, if a small business is going to have to pay a large increase in wages, they should get some kind of break. As for mega-corps like Wal Mart, well…screw 'em.
I suppose the tortured logic is that the only people seriously affected by a hike in the minimum wage are people who would benefit from a raised cap on estate taxes. Which is, of course, bullshit; small and medium sized businesses, restaurants, etc. will be impacted by this on a far larger scale, and their only means of recouping will be to raise prices, unfortunately.
The $5.15 minimum wage was passed in 1996. But that $5.15 does not buy as much now as it did 10 years ago.
Similarly, once upon a time (but more than 10 years ago), leaving an estate of $100,000 dollars to your heirs would have been considered a fortune. Now, it won’t even buy a condominium in most cities.
Congress tends to pass laws with specific numbers. (Computer programmers would call this “hard coded”.) Inevitable changes in society have the effect of of slowly altering the effects of those laws. LIfe expectancy has increased considerably since social security was enacted, but the age to receive benefits has stayed the same.
It seems fair to me that if the minimum wage is to be adjusted for inflation, that the size of an estate before it becomes subject to taxes be similarly adjusted. The standards for public policy, large and small, should be based on quality-of-life and purchasing-power, not specific numbers.
Which is not necessarily what I think is happening with the current bargaining in the congress. I got the impression (though the article does not proved enough details to back this up) that the Democrats are being asked to accept a permanent change (major adjustment or repeal of the estate tax) in exchange for a periodic adjustment (raising the minimum wage).
I think that would be a bad deal on the part of the Democrats. Inflation will continue, and in ten years we will need to raise the minimum wage again. There will be no more estate tax. What will the Republicans put up as their bargaining chip then?
Regardless of the company, what should be the definition of small business? Which get the tax breaks, and which don’t? What’sthe threshold? Number of workers? Sales? Profits?
The tax break angle is bullshit anyway. What DC loses in those tax reductions, it makes up for in increased taxes on wages. Say what you want of the government, but don’t kid yourself about one thing. The government is smart enough to work it out so they never actually take in less money. How would they pay for the raises and lifetime benefits?
As far as the dismissal based on a profitable company? They’re smart enough, as well, to know how to keep those profits up. If the higher wages cut into the bottom line, the prices go up. And mega-corps like Wal-Mart, Target, etc are often the very places the MW workers do the majority of their shopping.
So all of a sudden a kid flipping burgers is making more money per hour, but paying a higher price for the standard goods he’s used to. See a pattern here?
Also, in the case of the MW, it doesn’t fall into the “A rising tide lifts all boats.” If the MW goes from 5.15 to 6.65, what do the people making 7.50 do? They can’t really demand a 1.50 increase since they’re high enough on the pay scale where the employer doesn’t have to worry about them leaving for a MW job. OTOH, you’ll have people that were at least qualified enough to get a job paying more than $2 over MW realizing a part-timer in high school is les than $1 away from them.
There is a way to form a “fair wage” policy, but people much smarter than I for decades haven’t figured it out. So I’ll not even bother trying to come up with any ideas of my own how to do it. All I can do is harmlessly post opinions. That’s good enough for me.
