Democrats Options

[knucklehead]

If you didn't read this on CNN yet, this is a new thread in response to that "Congress getting richer" thread I posted.

I'm not a democrat, but I do admire them for this and didn't expect it at all. I just hope they stick to it. After all the shit republicans have pulled recently, I don't even wanna be republican anymore. Doing things like this is what it's all about, whether they're really just vying for public opinion or not.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A week after the GOP-led Senate rejected an increase to the minimum wage, Senate Democrats on Tuesday vowed to block pay raises for members of Congress until the minimum wage is increased.

"We're going to do anything it takes to stop the congressional pay raise this year, and we're not going to settle for this year alone," Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said at a Capitol news conference.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/27/con...wage/index.html

[kcroxyoursox]

and anyone raising a family on minimum wage would probably have two incomes

not trying to be stereotypical (though it works best for this example) but do you really think shaniqua down at mcdonalds has a baby daddy helpin her take care of rayshawn jr?

and more than enough free help from the government that i provided by paying my taxes.

on another link on that oprah page i posted, it said one guy makes 9.22 an hour, which is still $9000 lower annually than the government deems the poverty level. but because he makes more than min wage he doesnt qualify for state administered food stamps or medical aid. same with a lady who makes 10 an hour at a desk job.

i guess yes its possible for these people to save and eventually move up in the world, but you have to realize that not only are they having to save for the future, but also accrue enough to pay back what they owe now, which could be a whole lot depending on medical bills and such. at the end of just 30 days, the super size me guy and his gf owed about $1200, and at the rate they were working (him working 2 jobs/18 hours even) it would have taken them three months to pay it off, provided nothing else came up.

yes if everyone started with a clean slate tomorrow im sure many more people could make min wage work for them if they had to. but how many people really have a clean slate?