John Nichols: Fighting for a minimum wage hike

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http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/john-nichols-fighting-for-a-minimum-wage-hike/article_8bc37eac-6569-5f5a-b990-185ecbcdf34e.html

If income inequality is going to be a major issue in the 2014 election season, as President Obama’s State of the Union suggested, there will have to be candidates who focus on the practical steps that must be taken.

And, in that regard, few can rival Kelly Westlund.

The Ashland City Council member is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy for the northwestern Wisconsin congressional seat that was held from 1969 to 2011 by Democrat David Obey. The district’s been reconfigured somewhat, but it remains a region where old-school economic populist politics — of the sort Obey practiced with considerable success — still has resonance.

And Westlund is providing the economic populism.

While Duffy, a former reality TV star, got into a bit of hot water a few years back when he complained about having to make ends meet on his congressional salary — $174,000 a year — Westlund is focused on folks who have to make ends meet on $7.25 an hour.

“If we want to get the economy going, a higher minimum wage will provide economic opportunity for people who don’t already have it,” says Westlund, a small-business owner. “That increased buying power is good for working people, and it’s good for the economy.”