Webb on the Minimum Wage

By: Lowell
Published On: 2/1/2007 9:27:43 PM

From Senator Webb's office:

"Raising the minimum wage is one of the centerpieces of my economic fairness agenda. As an original co-sponsor of the legislation, I am pleased that Congress voted to increase the minimum wage for the first time in ten years.

"Members of Congress have increased their own salaries eight separate times in the past decade.  Today's increase to the minimum wage is long overdue for our hardworking American families.

"While corporate profits are at an all-time high, wages and salaries, as a percentage of GDP, are at their lowest level in history. Raising the minimum wage is an important first step in shrinking this disparity."

By the way, the vote was 94-3 in the Senate on this legislation.  Now, the Senate version, which includes billions of dollars in small-business tax breaks, will have to be reconciled with the "clean" House bill that simply raises the minimum wage over the next two years to $7.25 from $5.15 per hour.  This should be interesting!

Comments



I actually support the Senate Version (DanG - 2/1/2007 11:48:01 PM)


What defines a "small-business?" (S. Becker - 2/2/2007 8:24:29 AM)
What will be considered a "small business" in the Senate plan?  Will it be single-business operatives, a.k.a "mom and pop?"  Will it be all businesses that currently have minimum wage employees? 

It just seems like the definition of a "small-small business" as it refers to this bill could be very vague.

If anyone could post a link that has clarification of this, that would be great. 



Definition of Small Business (Matt H - 2/2/2007 12:26:20 PM)
In the land of millionaire Senators and Dubya's Rangers, it's defined as anything smaller than Exxon-Mobile.  :)


Steve Pearlstein argues (Jambon - 2/2/2007 9:25:27 AM)
over at the Washington Post that this mantra of small businesses creating most of the new jobs in America is a total myth perpetuated by the small business lobby:


In truth, the bulk of new jobs have always been created by a relatively small number of new firms that grow fast and get quite big -- think of companies like Southwest Airlines, Google, CarMax. Most have little in common with the small-business lobby in Washington or fast-food restaurant chains or the members of the Kiwanis Club in Helena, Mont. As a rule, companies like these couldn't care less about the minimum wage or special tax breaks to offset it.

and he goes on to say


both economic theory and history suggest that small business will, in time, pass on its increased costs to its consumers. Small businesses that pay low wages tend to compete with other small businesses that pay low wages, so they will all face the same cost pressures and respond in similar fashion. The worst that can be said is that a higher minimum wage will add, very modestly, to overall inflation.

Regardless, the President will veto anything without a small-biz tax break.  i say fine, but up that min wage $7.25/hr to $8/hr.  That's my compromise.