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Wednesday, 02 August 2006 03:17 |
 During this election year, a very important family-values issue has made its way to the halls of the Congress: the minimum wage.
Congress has not raised the minimum wage since 1997. Today, because of inflation, the two million workers nationwide who make just $5.15 per hour are only making $4 per hour relative to what they made then.
During
this same period, Congress has given itself pay increases eight times,
from $136,700 to $165,200. Seven of those raises were considered ?®cost
of living increases.?∆
What??s wrong with this picture?
Under pressure
from Democrats and moderate Republicans afraid of suffering a defeat in
the November elections, the House has approved a $2 increase in the
minimum wage. A similar bill is pending in the Senate.
(However, the
increase has been tacked on to a bill that would eliminate the estate
tax on all but the wealthiest taxpayers ?? an agenda item long sought by
Republicans.)
We wonder what has taken them so long to recognize the value of American workers.
North Carolina,
to its credit, recently approved a $1 increase in the state??s minimum
wage that will go into effect next year. Seven other states have passed
similar measures this year.
It is time for minimum wage workers across the U.S. to get a similar pay increase.
The present
plight of these American workers is a disgrace to our history as a
nation that has often been at the forefront of workers?? rights.
One of the great
strengths of the U.S. has always been its large middle class. In many
ways, that middle class has been the inspiration to people around the
world as they strove to raise themselves out of the depths of poverty.
However, over
the past several decades, that middle class has greatly diminished as
the county??s economy has continued to become more polarized ?? with the
wealthier classes becoming richer and the poorer sinking deeper into
debt. For many, the ?®American Dream?∆ has become an elusive fantasy.
It is
unconscionable that such a rich nation can allow its working poor to
toil for an hourly wage less than the cost of a fast-food meal.
We urge Congress to take heed before America becomes a third-world nation.
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