Wednesday, January 24, 2007
IT WAS A VOTE FOR CHANGE.....UM NOT SO MUCH
According to the somewhat Associated Press, turns out the minimum wage bill was only passed by the House and not the Senate therefore, it is not the law of the land yet. Of course, 3/4 of the American public understand the voting rules for American Idol better than the US Constitution so this may be a shock! Anyway, here are the first few lines of the APee story byline Jim "Croonin" Kuhnhenn:
WASHINGTON - The minimum wage increase that was supposed to zip through Congress veered onto a collision course Wednesday as lawmakers argued over business tax breaks that would be attached to ensure Republican support.
Democratic leaders in the House began laying groundwork to blame the Republicans for any impasse. Senate Democrats, however, cautioned their House colleagues not to jeopardize legislation they'd promised to approve if they gained control of Congress.
House Democrats demanded a clean bill from the Senate — no tax attachment — setting up a confrontation that could delay final congressional passage of the $2.10 an hour increase.
The Senate did vote 54-43 to advance a House-passed measure that would lift the pay floor without any accompanying tax cut. However, that was well short of the 60 votes needed to keep that version moving.
And here is a great quote from Uncle Teddy:
Minimum wage workers are men and women of dignity," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a longtime advocate of raising the wage floor, said. "They do some of the most difficult, backbreaking jobs in our society. They deserve a fair wage that respects the dignity of their work and they shouldn't have to live in poverty."
Backbreaking jobs like making his royal Kennedyness' bed, tending to the royal Kennedy family's landscaping, and of course the most taxing(pun intended) job of all mixing his royal highness Teddy the Bloated's cocktails. Nothing makes me want to toss up my lunch more than listening to a Kennedy wax poetic about po' folk. He got one thing right, minimum wage workers are often men and women of dignity. That's why an undignified SOB such as his royal self should not even be allowed to deign to speak for them.
I wonder if someone like Mary Jo Kopechne made minimum wage before she was left to die in the shallow waters off Chappaquiddick bridge? What about her dignity?
WASHINGTON - The minimum wage increase that was supposed to zip through Congress veered onto a collision course Wednesday as lawmakers argued over business tax breaks that would be attached to ensure Republican support.
Democratic leaders in the House began laying groundwork to blame the Republicans for any impasse. Senate Democrats, however, cautioned their House colleagues not to jeopardize legislation they'd promised to approve if they gained control of Congress.
House Democrats demanded a clean bill from the Senate — no tax attachment — setting up a confrontation that could delay final congressional passage of the $2.10 an hour increase.
The Senate did vote 54-43 to advance a House-passed measure that would lift the pay floor without any accompanying tax cut. However, that was well short of the 60 votes needed to keep that version moving.
And here is a great quote from Uncle Teddy:
Minimum wage workers are men and women of dignity," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a longtime advocate of raising the wage floor, said. "They do some of the most difficult, backbreaking jobs in our society. They deserve a fair wage that respects the dignity of their work and they shouldn't have to live in poverty."
Backbreaking jobs like making his royal Kennedyness' bed, tending to the royal Kennedy family's landscaping, and of course the most taxing(pun intended) job of all mixing his royal highness Teddy the Bloated's cocktails. Nothing makes me want to toss up my lunch more than listening to a Kennedy wax poetic about po' folk. He got one thing right, minimum wage workers are often men and women of dignity. That's why an undignified SOB such as his royal self should not even be allowed to deign to speak for them.
I wonder if someone like Mary Jo Kopechne made minimum wage before she was left to die in the shallow waters off Chappaquiddick bridge? What about her dignity?
