Senate rejects min. wage hike

Wed Jun 21, 2006 11:59 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday defeated a proposal pushed by Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage in increments from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour by January 1, 2009.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, unsuccessfully tried to attach the proposal raising the wage for the first time since 1997 to a defense authorization bill that is expected to be passed by the Senate soon.


Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money

The House of Representatives voted yesterday to give themselves a cost-of-living raise. Congratulations, lawmakers! Next year you’ll be making $3,100 more than you did this year.
Unfortunately, Congress doesn’t want to share the wealth. This makes the eighth time Congress has voted to increase its own pay since 1997; they, however, have voted down every attempt to give minimum wage earners a cost of living raise since 1997. Today, the real value of the minimum wage is $3.50 below what it was in 1968. Working full time for minimum wage today will rake in a whopping $10,700 a year, or about $5,000 below the poverty level for a family of three

Hope your conscience doesn’t bother you so much that you can’t enjoy that extra $3,100, Congress.

Posted by Christy June 29, 2005 5:10 am Filed UnderPoverty

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