Indeed, We Are Worth More!

Remember when Scott Walker said that the push for raising the minimum wage was "a distraction" and that the minimum wage "doesn't serve a purpose?"  He even echoed the right wing talking point that raising the minimum wage - especially to $15 - would do nothing but force businesses to close and kill a bajillion jobs.

We should be so lucky:

If Seattle businesses are closing up shop in response to our $15 minimum wage, you wouldn’t know it from our falling unemployment rate:

King County’s unemployment rate reach[ed] a low not seen since April 2008, data released Tuesday by the state Employment Security Department show.

King County’s unemployment rate in April was 3.3 percent, compared to 4 percent in March and 4.1 percent in April 2014.

Okay, monthly unemployment data is not seasonally adjusted, so the rate will surely rise in May and June as college and high school graduates join the workforce (like it does every year). And of course, it will take years—maybe even a couple decades—to fully suss out the employment effect (if any) of Seattle’s phased-in $15 minimum wage.

But again, if employers are cutting back on hiring in anticipation of rising labor costs—like $15 critics insist a rationally self-interested employer would—you wouldn’t know it from our falling unemployment rate.

So, I would say to the unions and organizations like Wisconsin Jobs Now, keep on fighting!

We'll all be better off for it when you are victorious.

US Democrats Move Towards $12 Per Hour Minimum Wage

Well, at least some people in the Democratic Party is on the ball with the minimum wage issue:

The U.S. Senate’s Democrats, under prodding from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., are moving toward supporting a $12-an-hour national minimum wage, higher than the $10.10 plan put forward by President Obama.

An increase in the federal $7.25 an hour minimum wage — a level set by the bipartisan Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 — has been blocked from a vote by Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“The $10.10-an-hour proposal is one we advanced two years ago this summer,” Murray said in an interview. “We were looking at where we should be, had that passed, and where we should be going with wages in this country.

“I know from my own experience, when you pay a livable wage people have increased buying power and can take care of their families’ needs. Businesses get more income and succeed. It is good for everyone.”

The proposals for a higher minimum wage may be stalled in Congress, but a tighter labor market has caused major retailers to increase wages for their lowest paid employees.

Wal-Mart announced last month that it will hike minimum pay to $9 an hour starting in April, and to $10 an hour a year from now, a move expected to boost paychecks for 500,000 of its 1.3 million “associates.”

That's a helluva lot better than the $10.10 proposed by Obama and other Republicrats.  At least the $12.00 per hour would put most people above the poverty line.

Further down the article, it shows why Scott Walker and his Teapublican allies are really out of the loop on this issue:

In 2014, voters in four Republican-controlled states — Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota — all voted to raise state minimum wages.

The highest-ever purchasing value of the federal minimum wage was 47 years ago. At $1.60 an hour the 1968 minimum wage was equivalent to $10.88 in 2014 dollars. Purchasing power has been in decline over the past three decades.

The gentle reader will remember that Walker said that he didn't think that the minimum wage serves a purpose.

Scott Walker: Minimum Wage "Doesn't Serve A Purpose"

Scott Walker has never liked the minimum wage much. While the country is making a push to raise the minimum wage, he likened it as a mere distraction. Walker has maintained his opposition to raising the minimum wage despite the fact that the nation's leading economists have advocated it.

It got to the point where more than a hundred minimum wage workers filed complaints with Walker, pointing out that state law requires that the minimum wage be a living wage. Wisconsin's minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, more than $4.00 per hour less than what a living wage is.

Walker dismissed the complaints off-handedly.

The issue came up again on Tuesday while Walker was meeting with the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, when he put his foot in it again:

"I'm not going to repeal it," Walker said. "But I don't think it serves a purpose because we're debating then about what the lowest levels are at. I want people to make, like I said the other night, two or three times that."

Unfortunately, due to his plantation economics, the only way that a person could make two or three times that is if they are working two or three jobs.

Sadly for Walker, reality doesn't match up to his rhetoric.

In the past month, several news stories have come out showing what a feckless weasel Walker really is:

• Wisconsin ranks last in the nation in regards to the well-being of African American children, with 80% of black children living in poor households,
• 42.5% of single mother households with children under 18 years of age live in povery,
• One in every four workers in Wisconsin are earning poverty wages, and
• Tax collections are down 2.3%, almost 6% less than the revenue Walker projected there would be.

It's not that the minimum wage serves no purpose, it's just that it doesn't serve Walker's purpose of advancing his plantation economics.

On the bright side, if thee is one, is that Walker said he won't repeal the minimum wage. It must be for the same reason he turned down hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid funding - he just cares too much.

Cross posted at Crooks and Liars

Vast Majority Of Wisconsinites Support Minimum Wage Increase

In November, many Wisconsinites will have the opportunity to send a message to Madison , telling them to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.  We are lagging behind many areas of the country who have already raised their minimum wage to that level and even higher.  And yes, they are doing much better than we are.

While the vast majority support this move, there are some that still don't.

From the Milwaukee Business Journal:

Seventy-three percent of registered voters in Wisconsin support an increase in the minimum wage according to a new poll, but support slipped by three percentage points from June.

The main reason for the decline is that fewer Republican voters supported a minimum wage increase in September than in June, according to The Wisconsin Economic Scorecard quarterly poll released Monday. The poll of Wisconsin residents is conducted by the UW-Milwaukee Center for Urban Initiatives and Research in cooperation with WisBusiness.com and Milwaukee public radio station WUWM-FM (89.7).

Wisconsin is one of 29 states where the minimum wage is set at or below the lowest level allowed by federal law, which is $7.25 per hour.

I am surprised that even half the Teapublicans are against hiking the minimum wage.

They either must be absolute misanthropes or they are very low information voters who spend too much time watching Faux News and listening to squawk radio and really think that it will make their Quarter Pounder with cheese cost $10.

To get the full information about how the minimum wage will benefit you, me and all of us, there is a panel to discuss this and other important referendum questions on October 15.

Details are here.

President Obama's Labor Day Message

President Barack Obama is coming to Milwaukee today to say some words at Laborfest, but here is a message from him that probably gives a hint at what he will be saying while he's here:

Seattle Could See $3 Billion Boom From Raising Minimum Wage

The City Council of Seattle recently voted unanimously to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.  Because of that vote, 100,000 people will see their incomes grow and subsequently, Seattle could see a $3 billion boost to their economy.

Here is a video of the vote and remarks from various Seattle officials regarding this historic moment (warning: sound levels vary widely):



Now ask yourself whose side people like Scott Walker and Chris Abele are on when they fight these long overdue increases in the workers' wages. Here's a hint: It's not yours unless your a wealthy business CEO.

Americans for Hypocrisy!

By Jeff Simpson

We have written alot here at CogDis about Americans for Prosperity and their old gopher boy Luke Hilgemann.   Although Luke has kind of had the last laugh, in that as he has become a VERY rich man (more on that story soon) and no longer has to live under the oppression of Scott Walker's regime. 

When Luke got promoted from local gopher to national coffee boy, the koch brothers, in their Wisconsin division of the Walker Campaign, needed a replacement, and they found one in David Fladboe. 

 They found Fladboe the same place that they found Hilgemann and Sean Lansing - straight from Scott Suder's office.    If your going to have an unethical, misleading organization like Americans for Prosperity, which is led by the vermin Tim Phillips, then Scott Suder is the perfect person to train your up and comers (United Sportsmen anyone?)! 

Now that we are caught up on the backstory of AFP, here is their current campaign:



    

In case it does not just JUMP right out at you...... 

Americans for Prosperity - STANDS WITH low-income workers, and unemployed Americans by opposing the minimum wage increase. 

Nothing says prosperity like low income workers and the unemployed! 

The New Political Mantra

When Milwaukee County Emperor Chris Abila crafted his 2014 budget, he planned on really sticking it to county workers yet again.  His proposed budget included another cutting of thousands of dollars from each workers' paycheck.

The unions lobbied hard for this unnecessary assault to be reversed.  The County Board did turn back the brunt of Abila's attack on the workers, but they still took a substantial hit.  

When all was said and done, Milwaukee County workers were paying much, much more - sometimes more than double - what state workers or City of Milwaukee employees were paying:

There was no way the unions or the County Board could call this a real victory. While it was undeniably and greatly better than Abila's proposed budget, the workers were still taking a big hit.  The addition of insult to injury came when the county announced that 2013 was projected to have a $14 million surplus, $5 million of which came from cuts in workers' pay and benefits. There was no need for the county to further exploit the workers.

We are seeing a similar argument going on today regarding the minimum wage.  

President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union address, endorsed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 over three years of gradual increases.  This idea has been endorsed by the state's Democratic US Representatives and Senator Tammy Baldwin.  It has also been embraced by state Democratic legislators.  And on Sunday, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke switched from her previous stance of raising the minimum wage by a mere 35 cents to the same plan the other Democrats are pushing.

Predictably, the corporate toadies like John Boehner, Scott Walker and the other Teapublicans are against this because it will cut in their corporate overlords ongoing profiteering.  So instead of trying to help the working poor, they make their tired old claims that it would kill jobs, kill the economy, kill Nemo or anything else in an effort to scare people.

Unfortunately for the corporate sockpuppets, 600 economists already have signed on saying that the minimum wage needed to be raised.  Among those are seven Nobel Prize-winning economists.and eight former presidents of the American Economic Association.

So for any rational person capable of critical thinking, it would seem pretty clear that raising the minimum wage.  It would benefit hundreds of millions of Americans, stimulate the economy and get things rolling again.

The catch is that to get people just up to the poverty line would require the minimum wage to be $11.33 per hour.  That is $1.23 more than what the Democrats are proposing and more than four dollars more than what the Teapublicans want to allow workers to make.

Obviously, the Democrats' plan is immeasurably better than that of the Teapublicans.  That said, it is still falling short of where the goal should be.  People will still be swallowed up by poverty but at least they will be sinking at a slower rate.  

It used to be that one time politicians and political parties were promising us that they would make things better.  Now they are only promising to make things less worse than the other side.  Some choice.

To be perfectly honest though, this new political mantra - "We won't hurt you as much as the other guys" - really isn't new at all.  For years, all of us have been voting for the lesser of two evils.  The sad part of that is that no matter who gets elected, it's still evil.

Isn't it time that we expect our elected leaders to work to make things better than to just make things suck a little less?

Leading Economists Call For Raising Minimum Wage

Scott Walker has made the news recently regarding his positions on the minimum wage.

He has come out in opposition to the minimum wage and calling it a "distraction":

As for the minimum wage, Walker warned that "artificially raising the minimum wage" through the federal or state governments would not create high-paying jobs, and that it could raise youth unemployment, which he noted was already high.

When challenged to explain why an unemployed or minimum wage worker would vote Republican given his stance on the issues affecting them, Walker responded that "in the end what people want is freedom and opportunity. You don’t get that through the mighty hand of the government."

More recently, he was pointed out for being the dirty rotten liar that he is when he falsely claimed that minimum wage jobs are "overwhelmingly for young people."

Likewise, Walker's successor and protege, Chris Abele, has come out repeatedly against a living wage in Milwaukee County, favoring his plutocratic pals and ensuring that they increase they're already vast wealth.

Mary Burke, who is running for governor, stated that she felt the minimum wage should be raised, but by an insulting 35 cents an hour.

It's not hard to tell who's pulling the strings on Walker and Abele when groups like the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and propagandists like the Bradley Foundation's MacIver Institute come out in a panic about any hint of people looking at just raising the minimum wage, much less setting it at a living wage level.

Now Walker looks even more the buffoon when 75 leading economists signed a letter to President Obama and to congressional leaders calling for them to raise the minimum wage:

July will mark five years since the federal minimum wage was last raised. We urge you to act now and enact a three-step raise of 95 cents a year for three years—which would mean a minimum wage of $10.10 by 2016—and then index it to protect against inflation. Senator Tom Harkin and Representative George Miller have introduced legislation to accomplish this. The increase to $10.10 would mean that minimum-wage workers who work full time, full year would see a raise from their current salary of roughly $15,000 to roughly $21,000. These proposals also usefully raise the tipped minimum wage to 70% of the regular minimum.

This policy would directly provide higher wages for close to 17 million workers by 2016. Furthermore, another 11 million workers whose wages are just above the new minimum would likely see a wage increase through “spillover” effects, as employers adjust their internal wage ladders. The vast majority of employees who would benefit are adults in working families, disproportionately women, who work at least 20 hours a week and depend on these earnings to make ends meet. At a time when persistent high unemployment is putting enormous downward pressure on wages, such a minimum-wage increase would provide a much-needed boost to the earnings of low-wage workers.

In recent years there have been important developments in the academic literature on the effect of increases in the minimum wage on employment, with the weight of evidence now showing that increases in the minimum wage have had little or no negative effect on the employment of minimum-wage workers, even during times of weakness in the labor market. Research suggests that a minimum-wage increase could have a small stimulative effect on the economy as low-wage workers spend their additional earnings, raising demand and job growth, and providing some help on the jobs front.

Well, that's just about the opposite of what Walker, Abele and the corporate special interests have been saying, isn't it?

I am sure that as soon as Charlie Sykes and the other propagandists see this news, they'll be scrambling around to dust off and bring up the same unsupported arguments that raising the minimum wage is bad.

But who are you going to believe - a corporate sockpuppet or 75 of the nation's leading economists.

For what it's worth, I don't think that the proposal goes anywhere near far enough.  Instead of raising the minimum wage in relation to inflation, but in relation to production, meaning that people would actually get paid for their work.  But I am also enough of a realist to know that this is probably the best we could hope for now.

Let Milwaukee County Lead On A Living Wage

On Labor Day, Milwaukee County Supervisor David Bowen announced that he was going to introduce a resolution that would require any company or agency contracting with Milwaukee County to pay its workers a living wage.

At that time I noted that the City of San Francisco was paying the highest minimum wage in the county at $10.55.  Even though they are paying this rate, none of the doom and gloom predicted by the corporate special interests have occurred.  The city still stands and hasn't burned to the ground by suddenly homeless people when all the jobs went away.

Likewise, the State of Washington raised their minimum wage at the beginning of 2013 and they are not only surviving but they are thriving.  Then again, they had to raise their minimum wage to keep workers from fleeing their state for greener pastures:

The increase translates to $310 a year for the average affected worker. The minimum wage will rise in nine other states, including Northwest neighbors Oregon and Montana. The minimum wage in British Columbia went up last spring to $10.25 (Canadian) an hour.

The hike in low-income wages results from a 1998 ballot initiative, championed by organized labor and opposed by some business groups, that provides annual rate adjustments to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

“Washington’s modest annual minimum wage increases have proven incredibly valuable in promoting economic growth and protecting the real value of low-wage workers’ paychecks during the weak post-recession recovery,” said John Burbank, director of the Economic Opportunity Institute.

“Congress should learn from Washington’s example and pass a federal minimum wage increase with annual cost-of-living advances to promote consumer spending and help cash-strapped workers make ends meet,” Burbank added.

And now we see the entire state of California has just raised their minimum wage as well:

Calling it a "matter of justice," Gov. Jerry Brown put his signature on a bill that will hike California's minimum wage to $10 an hour within three years, making it one of the highest rates in the nation.
The legislation signed Wednesday at a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles will gradually raise the current minimum of $8 an hour to $9 on July 1, 2014, then to $10 on Jan. 1, 2016.

The increase is the first to the state's minimum wage in six years and comes amid a national debate over whether it's fair to pay fast-food workers, retail clerks and others wages so low that they often have to work second or third jobs.

Brown called the bill an overdue piece of legislation that will help working-class families and close the gap between "workers at the bottom and those who occupy the commanding heights of the economy."

The governor was joined by state legislators and business owners who supported the measure, saying increased wages would boost the state's economy.

The state Senate approved AB10 on a 26-11 vote Sept. 12, and the Assembly followed hours later on a 51-25 vote. Both chambers voted largely along party lines.

Miguel Aguilar, a worker at a Los Angeles car wash, thanked the governor for signing the bill.

"We work really long hours," said Aguilar, who has a union contract. "Now, with the increase in the minimum wage, we'll be able to sustain an income that can support our families."

Supporters said the bill by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, would help workers left behind during the recent recession.

Imagine that, actually putting money back into the hands of the public to help improve and maintain the economy. I wonder what Scott Walker would make of this? He's so far has only taken money from the people and given it to his wealthy campaign contributors and benefactors. The only thing he has given the people is a lot of lip service.

I would also ask Supervisor Bowen to include county workers in this resolution.  Thanks to the cuts by County Emperor Abele, there are county workers who are now eligible for public assistance.  This should not be allowed, especially if they are asking contractors to do the same.

Then again, a living wage shouldn't be for just county workers or the workers of county contracted companies, but should be across the board for all workers in the county and the state.  A living wage isn't just an economically good thing, but it is also the moral thing to do.

Fast Food, Fox News and Minimum Wage

Apparently Fox News is to news, what A Taco Bell Steak is to a Ruth's Chris Filet:

 From the Daily show!

Pocan Urges Minimum Wage Hike

From Worker's Independent News:

Congress is starting to wake up to the movement of low wage workers demanding an increase to the federal minimum wage. Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan is one of the legislators who is leading the campaign in the House of Representatives. Jesse Russell reports.

Pocan said one of the greatest issues facing the country is the growing income inequality gap:

[Pocan] “In the last 40 years adjusted wages, 90 percent of Americans have seen an increase of $59, the top 1 p[percent of the top 1 percent has seen an increase of about $18 million. Measured out that’s like one inch versus five miles of a difference.”

Pocan said in addition to raising the minimum wage he believes giving workers more tools for organizing as a union are fundamental to turning around the economy.
[Pocan]: “If we can get people back into an economically sustainable position it overall helps the economy. It’s growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up which has always been the most sustainable way.”

He said the increase should be to between $9 and $11 per hour.

[Pocan] “Around the $10 figure seems to be where we should mathematically be and where we can probably provide the best bump to lift people out of poverty and make the increase still in a range where most people are paid anyway.”

It's a nice thought, but alas, I'm afraid that not enough people are paying attention and of those few who are, too many are paying attention to the snake oil salesmen of the right.

Maybe more people will wake up after another direct action hits the fast food restaurants and Walmarts in seven cities across the country on Thursday.

McBudgeting

I heard RoJo on the radio today trying to explain why it's better to pay people minimum wage - or less - because it would be better to have one or two hundred people have jobs that won't support them than have people get paid family supporting wages that will also create other jobs.

A couple of days ago, Milwaukee County Emperor Chris Abele celebrated the fact that workers will be able to be exploited at a hotel to be built by one of his plutocratic pals.

Charles Koch has actually come out saying that abolishing the minimum wage would somehow help the poor.

Needless to say, this is some of the most absurd talking points the Teapublicans can make.  To show how disconnected they are, check out this video:



More information is available here.

Now do you understand why the plutocrats and oligarchs are spending so much and fighting so hard to kill the unions.  The only answer to organized greed is organized labor.

Sean Duffy Is Scared of His Constituents!

Poor Sean Duffy, he keeps holding Town hall meetings and unfortunately for him, people are showing up and actually asking him questions!

Remember last year when he was asked a question about privatizing Medicare, he answered it with "when you have your town hall, you can stand up and give your presentation".  

He apparently felt that a townhall was just a chance to sit and show his constituents charts made up by the Heritage Foundation, he had no real interest in actually discussing issues with the peons.    Unless of course they have a camera!  

Now its a year later and Sean Duffy has learned a new tactic on how to deal with constituents who actually have a questions for their elected rep.   RUN AWAY!  

Here a constituent and Vietnam Veteran has a simple question about the minimum wage and Sean Duffy Runs!

a constituent approached Duffy outside a meeting in Wausau and attempted to ask him a question about the minimum wage. Duffy told the man he’s already held his single yearly town hall, got in his car, shut his door, and drove away, leaving the veteran tried to shout his question through the car’s rolled up window:

CONSTITUENT: Mr. Duffy, when are you going to hold your next town hall meeting?

DUFFY: We said we’re going to do one every year, and we’ve done that. So if you want to come set up an appointment in my office, we’d be happy to have you come on by.

CONSTITUENT: What I’d like to know is the law to raise the minimum wage…

[Duffy drives off]

This is a very popular tactic of the right when asked questions!   Most notably used by the "tea party" candidates who are just NOT smart enough to answer questions impromptu.  

Although we have to give Sean Duffy some credit, while he is hurting for money since he only makes $174k/yr, he was able to scam almost $25,000 extra taxpayer dollars last year from the good people of WI as a "car expense".   It takes someone special to be able to pretend to be a fiscal conservative and scam the system like that!   I bet his good buddy Puck could not do that! 

It is interesting that while sean duffy says that his district is so big he has had to put almost 50,000 mile on his car(at $.51 mile) he also spent an insane amount of $225,000 on unsolicited direct mail!  

Those "tea partiers" sure can burn through the taxpayers money!   In the real world, the taxpayers of Wisconsin deserve more! 

Two Disasters That Didn't Live Up To The Hype

Two recent events occurred and despite those that would have us believe that this would cause the world to veer off course and smash into the sun, or some such nonsense, things are still normal as can be.

My friend Zach Wisniewski pointed out today's event, the first day that same sex couples were allowed to register in the new domestic partnership registry.

Even though people were lining up since this morning to sign up, I can safely say that my marriage is as strong and as sacred as it ever was. I did not hear of a rash of divorces, and the only strained marriages that has been reported lately has been due to unfaithful Congressmen and Senators.

Although I do not see why there would be any outrage, the same sex couples are still barely being treated like human beings.

The other event happened last month, and went by unnoticed by the general population as a whole. The minimum wage went up to $7.25 per hour.

I have not noticed a rash of businesses closing their doors or the economy coming to another screeching halt. In fact, the economy as a whole, while still in no great shape, is starting to show some minor signs of improvement, much to the chagrin of talk radio and many Republican politicians gearing up for 2010.

It's a good thing that we are too smart to buy into the right's fear and smear anymore.