An 87 Percent Vote for a $15-an-Hour Wage

[xchrom]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/178928/87-percent-vote-15-hour-wage

Political insiders and prognosticators at the national level were, barely a year ago, casting doubts on the question of whether proposing a great big hike in the federal minimum wage was smart politics. While President Obama had proposed a $9-an-hour wage, Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Congressman George Miller, D-California, broke the double-digit barrier with a $10.10-an-hour proposal. But there was still skepticism about whether raising wages for the hardest-pressed American workers was a winning issue.

Polls have since confirmed that Americans from across the political and ideological spectrum are overwhelmingly in favor of a substantial increase in the minimum wage. And election results are now confirming the sentiment.

Even as they reelected Governor Chris Christie last fall, New Jersey voters gave landslide support to a measure that not only raised the state minimum wage to $9 an hour but indexed future increases to keep up with inflation. On the same day, voters in Sea-Tac, Washington, approved a $15 hourly wage, while voters in Seattle elected socialist Kshama Sawant on a “Fight for $15” platform.

Now comes a powerful signal from Chicago.

When voters in the city went to the polls to cast ballots in the Tuesday’s statewide and local primary elections, thousands of them faced an economic question: Would they support a $15-an-hour minimum wage for large employers in the city?

[TBF]

1. $15/hr is about $30K a year -

that seems like a good minimum. At the least. How much is the average CEO making these days? They always find the $$$ for those salaries.

[mopinko]

4. chicago isn't cheap.

it's a great place to live, and there are harder places to be poor.
but it is not easy to find decent housing. especially for a family.

i wonder what the rahm haters will say if he jumps on this bandwagon?

[TBF]

6. That is the hard thing w/wages -

even within states the cities might be way more expensive than the rural areas. Here in Houston we have relatively inexpensive housing compared to other major cities, but low wages means you often end up in areas that aren't the safest.

I'm not a huge fan of Rahm either, but I give him points for polar plunge (!), and would give him triple points for jumping on this bandwagon.

[mopinko]

7. he is on the band wagon

big time.
i like rahm, but i have a soft spot for assholes.

one good thing about chicago, tho, is you don't need a car. and you can afford the housing if you can share. lot of roomy old places, just spendy if they are nice.

and there is tons of work here. good work.

[fizzgig]

2. i would love if we made that much

we make on the lowest end of what they laughingly call middle class. we're not in dire straits, but we're on tenuous footing. sock a bit of money away, boom! vet bill, medical bill, insurance is due, car needs registered, whatever.

if we made that kind of money we could save, take a vacation, sock away for a house. you know, the type of shit americans are supposed to do.

[a kennedy]

3. Exactly, and I think they call that the MIDDLE INCOME group.

ah yah. It'll never happen though.

[LuvNewcastle]

5. We all need to have enough money so we can save some.

That's why so many people are dependent on credit and so worried about their damn credit scores all the time. This system works well for Wall Street, though. People shouldn't have to live hand-to-mouth like so many of us do. We're always worried about losing our income because we know we'll be up shit creek if anything happens.

The ability to save money for our own security is necessary for our well being. We feel like we're more in control of our lives when we can put something away and save toward something. It gives us dignity when we can say that we don't owe anybody anything. We need a raise and we need for the interest rates to be raised so that we can see a return for our savings. Living within your means and having control of your life so that you can take some pride in yourself is the American way.